Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Shares Acquired by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,401 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 2,171 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $7,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,753,779 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,903,741,000 after buying an additional 223,919 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,277,879 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,465,433,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after buying an additional 807,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Ares Management by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,126,442 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $907,534,000 after buying an additional 66,671 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of ARES traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $176.79. 927,269 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,428,794. The company has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.37. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock's 50-day moving average is $167.56 and its 200-day moving average is $166.42.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.29%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer cut Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ares Management from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 33,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.12, for a total value of $5,472,902.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 107,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $17,344,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $225,876,000. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.52% 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.