Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Decreases Stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd decreased its position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,367 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 47,094 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Ares Management were worth $17,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Ares Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,303 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 519 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $177.96. 684,352 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,423,505. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $165.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.47. 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 $58.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.37.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors 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 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Ares Management's payout ratio is currently 263.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total transaction of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 350,684 shares in the company, valued at $59,640,827.88. This trade represents a 34.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 62,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total transaction of $10,585,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,585,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353. 36.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARES. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer cut Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.94.

Ares Management Company 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.