Geode Capital Management LLC Has $596.28 Million Stake in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 7.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 244,286 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $596,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,189,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,813,445,000 after purchasing an additional 382,273 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 24.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,208,292 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $177,148,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,350,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,128,415 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $165,437,000 after buying an additional 174,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Partners Group Holding AG grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.6% during the 1st quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 386,336 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $56,641,000 after buying an additional 134,778 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.3%

ARES opened at $146.53 on Friday. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.70, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $158.36 and its 200 day moving average is $168.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.8438 per share. This represents a $3.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 192.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $35,078,061.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,424,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,693,149.02. This trade represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total transaction of $24,946,933.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 311,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,965,174.72. This represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,533,796 shares of company stock worth $453,825,507. Insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ares Management from $178.00 to $175.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.46.

Ares Management Profile

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.