HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,662 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $7,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 4,321 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 685 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $125.53 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $114.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.64. The company has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $95.80 and a fifty-two week high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 251.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ares Management from $178.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $146.00 price target (down from $147.00) on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.56.

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.