Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Trims Stock Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV cut its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 80.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,915 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after buying an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $396,165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $883,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,460 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,187,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 40,652.1% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 807,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $130,484,000 after purchasing an additional 805,319 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $127.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down from $147.00) on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.12.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $112.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.70. Ares Management Corporation has a 12-month low of $95.80 and a 12-month high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.54%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 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.