King Luther Capital Management Corp Purchases Shares of 91,551 Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Ares Management, purchasing 91,551 shares valued at approximately $13.42 million during the first quarter of this year.
• Ares Management's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.03, which was below analysts' expectations of $1.15, despite revenue of $1.35 billion surpassing predictions of $1.02 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio currently at 258.96%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 91,551 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $13,422,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC raised 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total value of $14,347,150.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 62,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total value of $10,585,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,585,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $6.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,414,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.47. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The firm has a market cap of $62.92 billion, a PE ratio of 111.37, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 258.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Cfra Research raised shares of Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.19.

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.