Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,056 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,151 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 125.6% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $178.67. 1,266,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,441,975. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Ares Management Corporation has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $170.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.33.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 263.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total value of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 350,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,640,827.88. The trade was a 34.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ARES. Oppenheimer cut shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $177.50.

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.