Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Takes Position in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,702,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 3.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,676,470 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,465,851,000 after purchasing an additional 740,103 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,534,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $565,180,000 after purchasing an additional 94,825 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,280,000 after buying an additional 244,286 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,586,253 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $413,516,000 after buying an additional 238,531 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Ares Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $328,910,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, Director Judy D. Olian acquired 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $124.43 per share, with a total value of $59,726.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. The trade was a 1.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,729.31. The trade was a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $116.13 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.41. Ares Management Corporation has a one year low of $106.02 and a one year high of $195.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of 68.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.55.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released 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 19.04%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. 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. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 265.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $182.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Ares Management from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.67.

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.