Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 382,273 Shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management Corporation by 2.0% in the first quarter, now owning 19,189,991 shares worth approximately $2.81 billion.
• Several institutional investors have modified their stakes in Ares Management, with overall institutional ownership standing at 50.03% of the company's stock.
• Ares Management announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 258.96%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 382,273 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 6.08% of Ares Management worth $2,813,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARES. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth $28,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 bought a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake 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. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ARES. Barclays upped their target price on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 target price on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.19.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, 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 transaction of $17,344,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $225,876,000. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $5,472,902.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353 in the last ninety days. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $188.53 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $176.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.76. The company has a market capitalization of $61.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 258.96%.

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.

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