Conversant Capital LLC Buys Shares of 66,000 Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Conversant Capital LLC has invested approximately $9.68 million in Ares Management Corporation by purchasing 66,000 shares, making it the 13th largest position in their portfolio.
• Recent insider sales include CEO Michael J. Arougheti selling 136,516 shares and Chairman Antony P. Ressler selling 196,197 shares, which demonstrates a significant decrease in their ownership percentages.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Ares Management shares, with new targets ranging from $200 to $215, reflecting strong confidence in the company's performance and market outlook.

Conversant Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 66,000 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $9,676,000. Ares Management accounts for approximately 1.6% of Conversant Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth about $306,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.5% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,727,563 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $253,278,000 after purchasing an additional 90,101 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 991.1% during the first quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 84,339 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,365,000 after purchasing an additional 76,609 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth about $380,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth about $207,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $24,946,933.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 311,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,965,174.72. The trade was a 30.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total value of $35,078,061.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,424,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,693,149.02. This trade represents a 12.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,809,483 shares of company stock valued at $325,460,792. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Ares Management stock traded down $3.59 on Wednesday, reaching $176.19. The company had a trading volume of 411,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,392. The firm has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.90, a P/E/G 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $181.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.54. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 258.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARES. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JMP Securities increased their target price 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. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.