Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 11.2% in the first quarter, owning a total of 99,363 shares valued at approximately $14.57 million.
• Ares Management reported $1.03 earnings per share for the last quarter, which missed analysts' expectations of $1.15, despite generating revenues of $1.35 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with an upcoming payment date of September 30th, representing a yield of 2.4%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 99,363 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 9,973 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $14,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,813,445,000 after acquiring an additional 382,273 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position 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. lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,308,330 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,218,084,000 after acquiring an additional 30,451 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,727,597 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $659,896,000 after acquiring an additional 302,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,354,032 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $491,735,000 after acquiring an additional 152,169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 33,145 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.12, for a total transaction of $5,472,902.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.19.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $4.75 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $191.30. The stock had a trading volume of 19,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,636,695. Ares Management Corporation has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. 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 stock has a market cap of $62.48 billion, a PE ratio of 110.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $176.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.29.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is 258.96%.

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.