Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Holdings Boosted by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,401 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $7,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 125.6% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Ares Management stock traded down $2.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $177.40. 713,906 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,430,542. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.38. 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 company has a market cap of $57.94 billion, a PE ratio of 104.35, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.37. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 263.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total transaction of $14,347,150.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total transaction of $30,971,107.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,684 shares in the company, valued at $59,640,827.88. The trade was a 34.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353. Insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 target price on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.88.

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.