Assetmark Inc. Grows Stock Position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 3.9%, acquiring an additional 1,809 shares, bringing its total holdings to 48,643 shares valued at approximately $7.13 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Norges Bank and Millennium Management, significantly raised their positions in Ares Management, with 50.03% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Ares Management reported earnings of $1.09 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12, contributing to a dividend yield of 2.41%.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,643 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $7,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 115,176 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $20,390,000 after buying an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 138,355 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $25,057,000 after purchasing an additional 15,761 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at $381,365,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Ares Management by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 80,596 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $14,268,000 after buying an additional 6,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARES. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Monday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Oppenheimer downgraded Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $177.50.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,640,827.88. The trade was a 34.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Insiders sold a total of 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $187.46. The stock had a trading volume of 396,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,651,111. The stock has a market cap of $61.22 billion, a PE ratio of 110.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.73. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 9.73%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. 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.