Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Ares Management by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 154,608 shares and lifting its total holding to 1,105,403 shares worth about $178.7 million.
• Institutional interest in Ares remains strong overall, with major investors like Vanguard and Massachusetts Financial Services also adding shares; institutions and hedge funds now own 50.03% of the company.
• Ares Management posted mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates at $1.24 versus $1.32 expected, but revenue came in above forecasts at $1.40 billion. The company also declared a $1.35 quarterly dividend, implying a 4.3% annual yield.

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,105,403 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 154,608 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.34% of Ares Management worth $178,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,210,530,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Ares Management by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $922,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Ares Management by 487.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 912,656 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $145,925,000 after acquiring an additional 757,293 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,172.9% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 622,796 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $99,579,000 after buying an additional 573,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,839,693 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $620,616,000 after buying an additional 304,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down from $147.00) on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $148.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.56.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $126.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.47. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $95.80 and a twelve month high of $195.26. The company has a market capitalization of $41.81 billion, a PE ratio of 58.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Ares Management had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 251.16%.

Ares Management Profile

Ares Management Corporation NYSE: ARES is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.

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