Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC cut its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,582,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 52,016 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC owned about 0.48% of Ares Management worth $183,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,009,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $437,417,000 after purchasing an additional 169,598 shares during the last quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 12.5% during the second quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,902,580 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $211,776,000 after buying an additional 211,404 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Ares Management by 43.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,653,078 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $180,343,000 after buying an additional 503,688 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 968.3% in the third quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,450,854 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $168,546,000 after buying an additional 1,315,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.6% in the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $118,830,000 after buying an additional 63,265 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Trading Up 4.3%

Ares Management stock opened at $139.78 on Tuesday. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $95.80 and a 52 week high of $181.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.27.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The asset manager reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 25.74% and a net margin of 7.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.70 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 435.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ares Management from $168.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $149.00 target price on Ares Management in a report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Ares Management from $139.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price (up from $140.00) on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.21.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation is a global alternative investment manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. Its strategies include direct lending, liquid and opportunistic credit, asset-based finance, private equity investing, and real estate debt and equity.

Founded in 1997, the firm serves institutional and individual investors through investment funds and other vehicles. Ares operates across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Co-founder Michael Arougheti is the company’s chief executive officer.