Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 4,373,955 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Ares Management worth $4,210,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,350,249 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $215,785,000 after buying an additional 129,368 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in Ares Management by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 704,069 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $113,799,000 after acquiring an additional 37,366 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 35,425.5% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 221,679 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,444,000 after acquiring an additional 221,055 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Ares Management by 1,903.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 60,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,708,000 after acquiring an additional 57,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $2,971,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy D. Olian acquired 480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,699,801.62. This represents a 1.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price target on shares of Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group set a $148.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.73.

Ares Management Stock Down 2.6%

ARES stock opened at $112.24 on Tuesday. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $95.80 and a 52 week high of $195.26. The company has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $111.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 319.53%.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.