RDST Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

RDST Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,810 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 31,085 shares during the period. Ares Management comprises approximately 1.6% of RDST Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. RDST Capital LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $5,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 13,940 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 6.6% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,341 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Ares Management by 4.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,659 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the second quarter worth $828,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 30.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total transaction of $6,260,151.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,475,750. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 27,068 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,942,995.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 222,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,474,504.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 604,316 shares of company stock valued at $87,718,000. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ARES opened at $156.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.02, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $96.00 and a 52 week high of $158.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $145.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 166.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.42.

About Ares Management

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.