Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,676,470 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 740,103 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.63% of Ares Management worth $3,465,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 100.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 190 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the second quarter worth $35,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 182.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 421 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 708.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 493 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $134.11 on Thursday. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.40. 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 market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 265.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $201.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $210.00 target price on Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 186,197 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.75, for a total value of $28,441,591.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 290,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,449,791.75. This trade represents a 39.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 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 transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,729.31. This represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 590,000 shares of company stock valued at $90,653,808. Insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

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.