Quilter Plc Increases Stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Quilter Plc increased its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 647,060 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 24,329 shares during the quarter. Ares Management makes up about 2.0% of Quilter Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Quilter Plc owned approximately 0.21% of Ares Management worth $94,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $126,622,000 after purchasing an additional 32,273 shares in the last quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $10,144,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,622 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,067,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 43.8% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,949 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 107,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $17,344,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $225,876,000. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,396,450. This trade represents a 32.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353. 36.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $171.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $163.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a PE ratio of 100.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.94.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.