National Pension Service Grows Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Ares Management by 8.6%, owning a total of 260,730 shares valued at approximately $38.2 million.
• Ares Management reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03 for the last quarter, which missed the consensus estimate of $1.15.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio currently at 258.96%.

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 260,730 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 20,630 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.08% of Ares Management worth $38,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 865 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 1.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,360 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 4.2% during the first quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 17,628 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $2.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.18. The company had a trading volume of 939,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,422. Ares Management Corporation has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $58.21 billion, a PE ratio of 103.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.40. The business's 50-day moving average is $179.08 and its 200 day moving average is $166.24. 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 (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for 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 15.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 258.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total value of $24,946,933.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 311,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,965,174.72. This represents a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $14,347,150.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 458,917 shares of company stock valued at $81,863,970 over the last ninety days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARES. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 target price on Ares Management and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer downgraded Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.06.

About Ares Management

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.