Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Position Boosted by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Ares Management by 4.1%, owning nearly 60,000 shares valued at approximately $8.79 million.
• Ares Management reported earnings per share of $1.09 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.15, with total revenue of $951.96 million.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12, reflecting an annual yield of 2.4%, despite a payout ratio of 263.53%.

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,956 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,373 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Ares Management were worth $8,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 129.6% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,988 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,960 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 53,401 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,829,000 after buying an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,270 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,757,000 after buying an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total transaction of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,640,827.88. This represents a 34.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 62,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $10,585,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,585,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.56.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.4%

Ares Management stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $187.77. The stock had a trading volume of 555,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,655,539. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.40. Ares Management Corporation has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $174.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 258.96%.

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.