Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Purchased by Cincinnati Financial Corp

Cincinnati Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 168,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Cincinnati Financial Corp’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $26,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 19,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 120.2% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,963 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,439 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 36,332 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,809,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.4% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 18,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total value of $8,846,975.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,729.31. This represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 590,000 shares of company stock valued at $90,653,808 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $136.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Ares Management Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $195.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.45. The firm has a market cap of $44.74 billion, a PE ratio of 80.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 265.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ARES. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.13.

About Ares Management

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.