Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Sold by Hamlin Capital Management LLC

Hamlin Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,005,430 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 63,649 shares during the period. Ares Management makes up approximately 3.9% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Ares Management worth $162,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,961 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its position in Ares Management by 1,903.9% during the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 60,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,708,000 after acquiring an additional 57,687 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price target on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy D. Olian purchased 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director directly owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.8%

ARES opened at $106.02 on Friday. 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 $34.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.17. Ares Management Corporation has a 12 month low of $95.80 and a 12 month high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 319.53%.

Ares Management Company Profile

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.