Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,995,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 341,407 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.61% of Ares Management worth $319,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 100.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 190 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total value of $8,846,975.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian acquired 480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. 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 research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $189.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.67.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $111.88 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $36.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $150.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.23. Ares Management Corporation has a one year low of $108.67 and a one year high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 265.09%.

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.