Korea Investment CORP Decreases Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Korea Investment Corporation reduced its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 61.9%, selling 85,000 shares, and now holds 52,415 shares valued at $7.68 million.
• Recent analyst reports show a mix of ratings for Ares Management, with Wells Fargo raising its price target to $202 and a predominant average rating of "Moderate Buy" based on 18 analysts.
• Ares Management declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%, despite a high payout ratio of 258.96%.

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 61.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,415 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 85,000 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Ares Management were worth $7,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,813,445,000 after buying an additional 382,273 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,308,330 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,218,084,000 after acquiring an additional 30,451 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,727,597 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $659,896,000 after acquiring an additional 302,303 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,354,032 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $491,735,000 after purchasing an additional 152,169 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,902,603 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $278,941,000 after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ARES traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $181.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 195,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,624,094. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.49 and a 200-day moving average of $165.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.16 billion, a PE ratio of 104.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 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 business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 258.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total value of $35,078,061.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,424,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,693,149.02. The trade was a 12.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,316,752 shares of company stock worth $235,983,344. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.73.

Ares Management Company 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.