Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Bought by River Road Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• River Road Asset Management dramatically increased its stake in Ares Management, boosting its holdings by 40,652.1% in the fourth quarter to 807,300 shares worth about $130.5 million.
• Other major institutional investors also added to Ares, including Vanguard, MFS, and Geode Capital, and overall 50.03% of the stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Ares reported quarterly EPS of $1.24, missing expectations, even as revenue came in above estimates; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, implying an annualized yield of 4.2%.

River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 40,652.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 807,300 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 805,319 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up 1.4% of River Road Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Ares Management worth $130,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 20.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ares Management by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $922,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,174 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $883,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,460 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,257,710 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $688,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,516 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 304,920 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $188.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $148.00 target price on Ares Management in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Ares Management from $127.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on Ares Management from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.56.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of ARES opened at $129.41 on Friday. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $95.80 and a fifty-two week high of $195.26. The company's fifty day moving average is $122.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.16. The firm has a market cap of $42.69 billion, a PE ratio of 60.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current 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 data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.54%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ares Management's 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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