Northern Right Capital Management L.P. Sells 16,186 Shares of Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• Northern Right Capital Management L.P. sold 16,186 shares of Ares Management, reducing its stake by 15.5%, now owning 88,083 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million.
• Ares Management recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, with a dividend payout ratio of 258.96% and an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Ares Management shares, with the consensus target now set at $182.73, indicating a "Moderate Buy" rating.

Northern Right Capital Management L.P. lessened its position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,083 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 16,186 shares during the quarter. Ares Management accounts for 5.3% of Northern Right Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Northern Right Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $12,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,813,445,000 after buying an additional 382,273 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 valued at $1,218,084,000 after purchasing an additional 30,451 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised 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 valued at $659,896,000 after purchasing an additional 302,303 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,354,032 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $491,735,000 after purchasing an additional 152,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 44,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.19, for a total value of $7,975,784.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 177,929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.61, for a total transaction of $31,779,898.69. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 865,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,589,991.37. This trade represents a 17.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,809,483 shares of company stock valued at $325,460,792 in the last three months. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $3.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $179.82. 1,171,251 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,618,719. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $58.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $181.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.62. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 258.96%.

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.