Alta Fox Capital Management LLC Takes $2.45 Million Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Alta Fox Capital Management LLC acquired 16,732 shares of Ares Management Corporation, valued at approximately $2.45 million, making it 1.0% of their total holdings.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, have also increased their stakes in Ares Management during the first quarter, indicating strong interest in the asset management company.
• Recently, Ares Management's Chairman sold 177,929 shares for nearly $31.8 million, marking a 17.05% decrease in his position, amidst a broader insider sell-off of 1.8 million shares valued at $325.5 million over the last ninety days.

Alta Fox Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,732 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,453,000. Ares Management comprises about 1.0% of Alta Fox Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARES. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 78,195 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 133.0% in the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 24,250 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,555,000 after purchasing an additional 13,843 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,335 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,714,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Mack & Oliver LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 0.5% in the first quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 71,327 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,457,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 44,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.19, for a total transaction of $7,975,784.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 176,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.05, for a total transaction of $31,299,607.20. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 400,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,922,334.90. This trade represents a 30.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,274,422 shares of company stock worth $408,064,869 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $2.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,638,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,163. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.53, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.36.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 258.96%.

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.