Great Diamond Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Great Diamond Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,987 shares during the quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $2,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARES. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 116.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 42.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 15.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,902 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 708.2% in the first 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. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down from $147.00) on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.56.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $122.01 on Thursday. Ares Management Corporation has a one year low of $95.80 and a one year high of $195.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $40.25 billion, a PE ratio of 56.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.50.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.54%.The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 251.16%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Director Judy D. Olian purchased 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $124.43 per share, with a total value of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.