Investors Purchase High Volume of Ares Management Call Options (NYSE:ARES)

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 9,717 call options on the company. This is an increase of 48% compared to the average volume of 6,546 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. The trade was a 41.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,210,530,000 after buying an additional 4,373,955 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $396,165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $883,716,000 after buying an additional 1,963,460 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ares Management by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $922,196,000 after buying an additional 1,187,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the second quarter worth $161,774,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $102.09 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $118.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.64 billion, a PE ratio of 60.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.52. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $95.80 and a 1 year high of $195.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 319.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research set a $210.00 target price on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price objective on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut 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 issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.47.

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.