Empowered Funds LLC Trims Position in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 90.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 32,330 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 199.7% in the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,658,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $221,007,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,434 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at $264,729,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ares Management by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after buying an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth $209,884,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 722.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,738,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $231,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $175.52 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $163.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.29. The company has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 80.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $107.69 and a 12-month high of $176.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 14,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.62, for a total transaction of $2,178,766.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,227,500. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This trade represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 613,326 shares of company stock valued at $96,606,744. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.