Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,054 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,063 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $11,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,207,381,000 after purchasing an additional 206,996 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $460,525,000 after acquiring an additional 71,819 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $264,729,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,499,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 216.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,253,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $149,083,000 after buying an additional 857,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at $161,475,750. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total value of $23,394,600.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,163 shares in the company, valued at $13,660,399.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares in the company, valued at $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 702,930 shares of company stock valued at $97,948,044 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ares Management from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.33.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded down $1.74 on Monday, reaching $145.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 849,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,140,907. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $139.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.46. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $96.00 and a 52-week high of $152.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.57, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The business had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.