Bfsg LLC Sells 5,743 Shares of Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Bfsg LLC significantly reduced its stake in Ares Management Corporation, selling 5,743 shares and now holding only 277 shares, worth $48,000.
• Ares Management reported quarterly earnings of $1.03 per share, which was below analyst expectations of $1.15, despite generating revenue of $1.35 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 16th, indicating a strong dividend yield of 2.5%.

Bfsg LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 95.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,743 shares during the quarter. Bfsg LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $48,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 125.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 3,262.5% in the 1st quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 269 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $181.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.44. The company's fifty day moving average is $182.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.51. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is 258.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 128,837 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total transaction of $22,971,637.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock worth $464,430,639. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.

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