Capital Investment Counsel LLC Has $9.51 Million Stake in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Capital Investment Counsel LLC has reduced its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 5.8%, selling 3,960 shares and owning a total of 64,834 shares, which constitute approximately 1.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Ares Management reported $1.03 earnings per share, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15, with a revenue of $1.35 billion during the last quarter.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.48 and a yield of 2.5%.

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,834 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,960 shares during the quarter. Ares Management accounts for approximately 1.6% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Capital Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Ares Management were worth $9,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 766,267 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $135,652,000 after buying an additional 611,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,813,445,000 after acquiring an additional 382,273 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,727,597 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $659,896,000 after acquiring an additional 302,303 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Ares Management by 18.3% during the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,128,415 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $165,437,000 after acquiring an additional 174,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 967,728 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $171,317,000 after purchasing an additional 159,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 14th. 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. Oppenheimer lowered Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $182.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $35,078,061.63. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,424,538 shares in the company, valued at $254,693,149.02. This trade represents a 12.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total transaction of $24,946,933.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 311,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,965,174.72. This represents a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,809,483 shares of company stock valued at $325,460,792 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES traded up $3.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $179.82. 1,171,251 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,618,787. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $58.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.94, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.44. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $181.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.58.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 258.96%.

Ares Management Company 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.