LRI Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

LRI Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,382,041 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 217,135 shares during the period. Ares Management makes up 29.9% of LRI Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. LRI Investments LLC owned 0.76% of Ares Management worth $349,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,903,741,000 after acquiring an additional 223,919 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,465,433,000 after acquiring an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,258,519,000 after acquiring an additional 807,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Ares Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $907,534,000 after acquiring an additional 66,671 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of Ares Management 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 107,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $17,344,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $225,876,000. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353 in the last ninety days. 36.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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 raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.88.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES traded down $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $177.40. The stock had a trading volume of 713,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,542. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.38. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Ares Management 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.