Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Lowers Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,027,589 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 51,180 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.31% of Ares Management worth $164,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $328,910,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,936,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,626,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746,376 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter worth approximately $161,774,000. Munro Partners purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,218,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 7.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,280,000 after purchasing an additional 244,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price objective on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Judy D. Olian acquired 480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased 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 owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $119.25 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $38.98 billion, a PE ratio of 70.56, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $152.72 and its 200 day moving average is $160.04. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 265.09%.

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.