Perpetual Ltd Sells 22,478 Shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 417,720 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 22,478 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd owned about 0.13% of Ares Management worth $61,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th 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 position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 125.6% during the 1st 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. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $171.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $163.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.63. The firm has a market cap of $55.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.77, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.38. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 263.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 33,145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.12, for a total transaction of $5,472,902.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.37, for a total value of $6,774,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,396,450. The trade was a 32.00% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

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.

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