Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,685,608 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 41,989 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 1.17% of Ares Management worth $540,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 104.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 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 buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.0%

ARES stock traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $176.79. The stock had a trading volume of 927,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,049. The firm has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a PE ratio of 103.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $167.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.42. Ares Management Corporation has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.29%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 263.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 62,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $10,585,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 62,500 shares in the company, valued at $10,585,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total transaction of $30,971,107.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 350,684 shares in the company, valued at $59,640,827.88. The trade was a 34.18% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 36.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.