GM Advisory Group LLC Buys Shares of 13,951 Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• GM Advisory Group LLC has initiated a new investment in Ares Management Corporation, purchasing 13,951 shares valued at approximately $2,045,000.
• Ares Management's recent quarterly earnings report showed EPS of $1.03, which missed estimates, though revenue exceeded expectations at $1.35 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, resulting in a 2.5% yield, with a high dividend payout ratio of 258.96%.

GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,951 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,045,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total transaction of $14,347,150.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 105,648 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.65, for a total transaction of $19,190,959.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 44,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,130,654. The trade was a 70.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 992,628 shares of company stock worth $177,736,922 in the last 90 days. 36.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ARES shares. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 target price on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $180.06.

Ares Management Trading Down 1.9%

ARES stock traded down $3.4840 during trading on Monday, hitting $177.5860. The company had a trading volume of 384,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,981. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.88, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 258.96%.

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.