Judy Olian Buys 480 Shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Director Judy Olian bought 480 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,853,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,476,016. The firm has a market cap of $38.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.52. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.33. Ares Management Corporation has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released 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). The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 319.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARES. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. UBS Group set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.67.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,373,955 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 worth $922,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,174 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $883,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,460 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Ares Management by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,257,710 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $688,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,839,693 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $620,616,000 after purchasing an additional 304,920 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.