Kentucky Retirement Systems Takes Position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,631 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,852,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,303 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 519 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE ARES traded down $0.89 on Wednesday, reaching $168.93. 1,233,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,420,287. Ares Management Corporation has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $55.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $162.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.37, for a total transaction of $6,774,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,396,450. This represents a 32.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $10,585,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 62,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,585,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.