Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management Corporation by 0.3%, owning approximately 1,902,603 shares valued at around $278.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insiders, including David B. Kaplan and Chairman Bennett Rosenthal, have recently sold substantial shares, with a total of 531,329 shares sold by insiders valued at about $88.2 million over the past 90 days.
• Ares Management announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, set to be paid on September 30th, indicating a high payout ratio of 258.96%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,902,603 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.60% of Ares Management worth $278,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 382,273 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,903,741,000 after purchasing an additional 223,919 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,308,330 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,218,084,000 after purchasing an additional 30,451 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,727,597 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $659,896,000 after acquiring an additional 302,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 4.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,354,032 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $491,735,000 after acquiring an additional 152,169 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 33,145 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the business'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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 531,329 shares of company stock valued at $88,173,829. Insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.19.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $187.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business's 50 day moving average price is $178.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.36 billion, a PE ratio of 108.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.40. 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 Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 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.

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