Aberdeen Group plc Buys 59,404 Shares of Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 151.2%, owning approximately 98,692 shares valued at $14.47 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Ares Management's recent earnings report revealed $1.03 earnings per share, which was below the consensus estimate of $1.15, although its revenue was higher than expected at $1.35 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 to be paid on September 30th, representing a yield of 2.4%, with an ex-dividend date on September 16th.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 151.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,692 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 59,404 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Ares Management were worth $14,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,964 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,757 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 98,732 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $17,457,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 451,947 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $80,014,000 after acquiring an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 606.7% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 6,551 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock traded up $2.5950 during trading on Friday, reaching $180.8550. The stock had a trading volume of 1,500,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,248. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The stock's 50 day moving average is $179.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.75. 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 firm has a market cap of $59.09 billion, a PE ratio of 104.54, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $14,347,150.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total transaction of $24,946,933.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 311,728 shares in the company, valued at $56,965,174.72. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 992,628 shares of company stock worth $177,736,922 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ares Management from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer cut Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price objective on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.06.

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.