Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $93.32 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 17.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 583,653 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,199 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.18% of Ares Management worth $93,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $328,910,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 9.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,936,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,626,179,000 after buying an additional 1,746,376 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the second quarter valued at $161,774,000. Munro Partners acquired a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at $58,218,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 7.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,280,000 after acquiring an additional 244,286 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Ares Management from $189.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.67.

Ares Management Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NYSE:ARES 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. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $108.67 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.23. The firm has a market cap of $36.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.20, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.26% and a net margin of 9.41%.The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 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.