Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Acquired by Vulcan Value Partners LLC

Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,350,249 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,368 shares during the period. Ares Management makes up approximately 3.9% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned 0.41% of Ares Management worth $215,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth $328,910,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,936,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,626,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746,376 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $161,774,000. Munro Partners acquired a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $58,218,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 7.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,280,000 after buying an additional 244,286 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This represents a 41.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total transaction of $8,846,975.82. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 477,194 shares of company stock valued at $73,715,987. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $148.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.13.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $123.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $156.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.34. The company has a market capitalization of $40.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.91, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.52. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.26%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 265.09%.

Ares Management Profile

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.