Western Financial Corp CA Purchases 3,819 Shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)

Western Financial Corp CA increased its position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 113.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,187 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 3,819 shares during the quarter. Western Financial Corp CA's holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 125.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on shares of Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.94.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $168.93 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $162.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.66. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 263.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.37, for a total value of $6,774,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 85,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,396,450. This represents a 32.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 57,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.55, for a total transaction of $9,699,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 532,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,334,883.60. The trade was a 9.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock worth $146,204,353. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Ares Management 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.

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