Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lessened its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,196 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $20,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,392,349 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,949,378,000 after purchasing an additional 631,334 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $460,525,000 after purchasing an additional 71,819 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ares Management by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,644,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $272,033,000 after purchasing an additional 78,781 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,499,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 216.3% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,253,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $149,083,000 after buying an additional 857,245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $176.00 to $132.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total value of $23,394,600.14. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,163 shares in the company, valued at $13,660,399.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 110,341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.35, for a total transaction of $15,486,359.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,601,140.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total value of $23,394,600.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,660,399.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,458,640 shares of company stock worth $197,862,103 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $135.45 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $92.95 and a 1 year high of $150.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a PE ratio of 60.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.15.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. The business had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 166.82%.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.