UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its stake in Ares Management Corporation by 24.9%, now holding a position worth $177.15 million after acquiring 240,564 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Insiders sold over 2.46 million shares of Ares Management stock valued at approximately $441 million in the last quarter, with Chairman Antony P. Ressler selling 101,400 shares.
• Ares Management reported earnings per share of $1.03 for the last quarter, missing estimates, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 to be paid on September 30th.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 24.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,208,292 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 240,564 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.37% of Ares Management worth $177,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 125.6% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 3,262.5% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 269 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:ARES traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $182.95. 837,086 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,335,676. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.51, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.44. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The firm's 50 day moving average is $182.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 258.96%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $35,078,061.63. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,424,538 shares in the company, valued at $254,693,149.02. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total transaction of $24,946,933.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 311,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,965,174.72. The trade was a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock worth $464,430,639. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $182.73.

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.