Aberdeen Group plc Increases Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 6.0%, owning a total of 104,631 shares valued at approximately $18.12 million.
• Analysts have set an average price target of $181.31 for Ares Management, with the majority rating the stock as a "Buy" or "Outperform."
• Ares Management recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12, representing a 3.0% yield, despite a high payout ratio of 258.96%.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,631 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 5,939 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Ares Management were worth $18,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ARES. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Ares Management by 182.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,906 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 8,978 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $222,000. Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $374,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 3,262.5% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 269 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. Cfra Research raised Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $180.00 target price on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.31.

Ares Management Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE ARES opened at $149.38 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.81 billion, a PE ratio of 86.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's 50 day moving average is $173.59 and its 200 day moving average is $167.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is 258.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 128,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total value of $22,971,637.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock valued at $464,430,639 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Company 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.

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