Danske Bank A S Buys 9,400 Shares of Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S raised its stake in Ares by 10.3%, buying 9,400 shares to hold 101,057 shares valued at about $16.33 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 50.03% of the company.
• Ares reported strong Q1 fundraising and AUM — including a first‑quarter record of roughly $30 billion and revenue of $1.36 billion that topped estimates — but EPS of $1.24 missed consensus amid rising expenses.
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $165.31 target despite several price‑target cuts, and the company announced a $1.35 quarterly dividend (a 4.5% yield) while showing a very high payout ratio (~319.5%).

Danske Bank A S raised its stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,057 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S's holdings in Ares Management were worth $16,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Vulcan Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,350,249 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $215,785,000 after acquiring an additional 129,368 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 704,069 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $113,799,000 after acquiring an additional 37,366 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 35,425.5% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 221,679 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $35,444,000 after acquiring an additional 221,055 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1,903.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 60,717 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,708,000 after acquiring an additional 57,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,971,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ARES. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $182.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.31.

Ares Management News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record fundraising and revenue boost confidence: Ares raised a first‑quarter record ~$30 billion and reported higher revenue and GAAP net income ($142.6M), signaling strong investor demand and driving upward sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Assets under management and flows beat expectations: AUM and fundraising topped consensus, underpinning fee growth and recurring revenue potential for the firm. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong lending and deal activity: Ares closed ~$9.5B of U.S. direct lending in Q1 (≈$53B TTM) and participated in large private‑credit deals (e.g., $800M GoodLife financing with JPMorgan), supporting future fee and interest income. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Firm says balance sheet and investor demand are resilient: Management downplayed redemption fears and AI‑related disruption, which helped calm market concerns around private credit. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate moves and strategy: Ares announced leadership/strategy changes (COO appointment, platform reshaping including BlueCove) that could affect execution but are longer‑term in impact. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS miss and rising expenses: Reported EPS ($1.24) missed consensus (~$1.34) and realized income metrics were pressured by higher expenses — a near‑term profitability concern that analysts flagged. Article Title

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $124.43 per share, with a total value of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $3,699,801.62. The trade was a 1.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $119.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $39.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.47, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.50. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $95.80 and a 1 year high of $195.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.48.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 10.54%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 319.53%.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation NYSE: ARES is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.

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