Ashish Bhutani Purchases 10,000 Shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $137.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $161.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.26. Ares Management Corporation has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $195.26. The company has a market capitalization of $44.89 billion, a PE ratio of 81.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 265.09%.

More Ares Management News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ares’ sports/media arm led a $50 million growth investment in content company Propagate — this expands Ares’ growth/private-equity footprint in digital media and could generate fee-related earnings and carry upside as the content business scales. Propagate targets growth with $50m investment from Ares Management Sports
• Positive Sentiment: Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares (~$1.27M at ~$126.61), a meaningful insider purchase that signals management confidence and often supports investor sentiment. Ares Management Director Acquires $1,266,100.00 in Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James upgraded ARES (to strong-buy/ higher PT) after recent company interactions — upgrades can attract flow from institutional and retail momentum buyers. Raymond James upgrades Ares Management
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank upgraded ARES (from hold to buy), adding another brokerage endorsement that may support demand for the shares. Deutsche Bank upgrades Ares Management
• Positive Sentiment: Market reports note a material quarterly dividend increase (to $1.35 quarterly; annualized $5.40, ~3.9% yield) — dividend hikes are shareholder-friendly and can support the share price, though the payout ratio appears elevated. Ares Management Stock Performance and Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Ares Charitable Foundation launched a worker reskilling initiative to strengthen global supply chains — positive for ESG/brand but unlikely to move near-term fundamentals. Ares Charitable Foundation Launches New Initiative
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Bank of America Financial Services conference (transcript available) — useful for modeling and hearing guidance but no headline changes reported. Ares Presents at Bank of America Conference (transcript)
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its price target to $180 — a downgrade to the consensus outlook that could cap upside and influence institutional positioning. RBC Lowers Ares Management Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Last week’s quarterly results missed EPS expectations (reported $1.45 vs. $1.71 est.) — revenue beat but the EPS shortfall and a high payout ratio raise questions about near-term earnings cadence and dividend sustainability. Ares Q4 Results and Metrics

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ARES. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research note 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 company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price objective on Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.13.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 34,036 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,895,000 after acquiring an additional 7,776 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 2.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,534,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $565,180,000 after purchasing an additional 94,825 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 30.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 4,388 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $161,774,000. Finally, Quilter Plc raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 666,703 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $106,599,000 after buying an additional 24,964 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.