Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Invests $789,000 in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,380 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $789,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 125.6% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 57,208 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total value of $9,699,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 532,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,334,883.60. This trade represents a 9.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total transaction of $14,347,150.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $173.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,591,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,574. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.94, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.38. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer lowered Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Management from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.94.

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.