Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 261,474 Shares of Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 194.4% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 261,474 shares and bringing its total holding to 395,965 shares worth about $64.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their positions, and about 50.03% of Ares Management’s stock is now owned by institutions, signaling broad investor interest.
• Analysts remain generally positive with a “Moderate Buy” consensus, even as some price targets were lowered; the stock also traded down 2.8% and the company recently declared a $1.35 quarterly dividend payable June 30.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 194.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 395,965 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 261,474 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.12% of Ares Management worth $64,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vulcan Value Partners LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,350,249 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $215,785,000 after acquiring an additional 129,368 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,903.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 60,717 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,708,000 after purchasing an additional 57,687 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in Ares Management by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 704,069 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $113,799,000 after purchasing an additional 37,366 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 35,425.5% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 221,679 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $35,444,000 after buying an additional 221,055 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $2,971,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $148.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $127.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.56.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of ARES opened at $125.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $41.48 billion, a PE ratio of 58.49, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.51. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $95.80 and a 1 year high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.54%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 251.16%.

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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