Aberdeen Group plc Increases Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,705 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,546 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $19,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bangor Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $88,000. Tema Etfs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $690,000. Victory Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 1,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 271.0% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group set a $148.00 target price on Ares Management in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded 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 report on Monday, February 9th. One 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.73.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $102.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.87, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.27. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $95.80 and a 52-week high of $195.26.

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). The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued 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 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 319.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 36.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Management 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.