Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Acquired by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 1,903.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,687 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $9,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter worth approximately $328,910,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,936,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,626,179,000 after buying an additional 1,746,376 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $161,774,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 487.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 912,656 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $145,925,000 after buying an additional 757,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,172.9% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 622,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $99,579,000 after buying an additional 573,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $107.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $35.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.88. Ares Management Corporation has a 1-year low of $95.80 and a 1-year high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 319.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARES. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Ares Management from $189.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. UBS Group set a $148.00 target price on Ares Management in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.67.

About Ares Management

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.