Arvest Bank Trust Division Purchases New Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 31,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,404,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,210,530,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $922,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $883,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Ares Management by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,257,710 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $688,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 4.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,009,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $437,417,000 after purchasing an additional 169,598 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARES. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.93.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $120.83 on Wednesday. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $95.80 and a 1 year high of $195.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $123.64 and its 200 day moving average is $126.24. The stock has a market cap of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.20, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 22.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 251.16%.

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.