IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,713 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,912 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,960 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $126,622,000 after purchasing an additional 32,273 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,270 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Soros Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,144,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $667,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:ARES traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $176.79. 927,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,431,049. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.50. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $57.74 billion, a PE ratio of 103.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $14,347,150.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total transaction of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 350,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,640,827.88. This represents a 34.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353. 36.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.