QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Ares Management by 192.9% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 94,342 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $16,340,000 after buying an additional 62,134 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $43,000. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. grew its position in Ares Management by 87.8% during the second quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 7,411 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $273,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $256,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total value of $35,078,061.63. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,424,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,693,149.02. This represents a 12.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock worth $464,430,639. Company insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.7%

ARES opened at $147.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $176.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ares Management Corporation has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 258.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ARES shares. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Ares Management from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.00.

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.