State of Alaska Department of Revenue Purchases Shares of 20,420 Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake of 20,420 Ares shares worth about $3.3 million in the fourth quarter, according to the firm's 13F filing.
• Ares raised its quarterly dividend to $1.35 (annualized $5.40), yielding roughly 4.7%, up from the prior $0.84 quarterly payout.
• Recent results were mixed: Ares missed EPS ($1.45 vs. $1.71 consensus) but beat revenue ($1.50B vs. $1.38B); the stock opened at $115.92 and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $168.73.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,420 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Ares Management by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $922,196,000 after buying an additional 1,187,174 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 487.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 912,656 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $145,925,000 after purchasing an additional 757,293 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,676,470 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,465,851,000 after acquiring an additional 740,103 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1,172.9% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 622,796 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $99,579,000 after acquiring an additional 573,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Munro Partners bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,218,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price target on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.73.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,729.31. The trade was a 41.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of ARES stock opened at $115.92 on Friday. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $95.80 and a 1 year high of $195.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $113.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $38.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.59, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Ares Management's payout ratio is 319.53%.

Ares Management Profile

Ares Management Corporation NYSE: ARES is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.

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