Ieq Capital LLC Takes $380,000 Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC recently purchased 2,594 shares of Ares Management Corporation, valued at approximately $380,000, during the first quarter, highlighting continued interest from institutional investors.
• Ares Management reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15, while revenue exceeded expectations at $1.35 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, which reflects a 2.5% yield and has a notably high dividend payout ratio of 258.96%.

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,594 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 125.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3,262.5% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 269 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $177.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,638,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,163. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $181.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.26. The company has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.44.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 14th. Oppenheimer cut Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 176,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.05, for a total transaction of $31,299,607.20. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 400,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,922,334.90. This represents a 30.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 44,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.19, for a total transaction of $7,975,784.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,274,422 shares of company stock worth $408,064,869. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Management Profile

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.