Ares Management Corporation $ARES Stake Lowered by Guardian Point Capital LP

Guardian Point Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 62.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 125,000 shares during the period. Ares Management makes up about 3.4% of Guardian Point Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Guardian Point Capital LP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $8,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $922,196,000 after buying an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 55.7% during the 4th 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 position in Ares Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,257,710 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $688,176,000 after buying an additional 14,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,009,291 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $437,417,000 after acquiring an additional 169,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $126.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.48 and a 200-day moving average of $125.63. The stock has a market cap of $41.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.51. Ares Management Corporation has a one year low of $95.80 and a one year high of $195.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Ares Management had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 22.14%. The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 251.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ARES shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $144.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on Ares Management from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.93.

Ares Management Company 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.