Equitable Trust Co. Has $5.41 Million Stake in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 1,719.1% in Q2, holding 31,252 shares valued at approximately $5.41 million.
• Ares Management reported $1.03 EPS for Q2, missing estimates and showing a net margin of 9.47% and revenue of $1.35 billion.
• Insider activity saw significant sales, with CEO Michael J. Arougheti offloading 136,516 shares worth about $24.95 million earlier this year.

Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 1,719.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,252 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 29,534 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,813,445,000 after purchasing an additional 382,273 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,208,292 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $177,148,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,350,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,128,415 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $165,437,000 after purchasing an additional 174,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,354,032 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $491,735,000 after purchasing an additional 152,169 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $143.69 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $174.36 and its 200-day moving average is $167.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.94 billion, a PE ratio of 83.06, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.43. 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 issued 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). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 258.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARES. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on Ares Management from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $181.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $56,965,174.72. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman owned 1,424,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,693,149.02. The trade was a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock worth $464,430,639 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

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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