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

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,401 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring 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 SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 104.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total value of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 350,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,640,827.88. This represents a 34.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353. 36.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.88.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES traded down $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.40. The company had a trading volume of 713,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,428,369. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.35, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.48.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.