Korea Investment CORP Has $16.77 Million Stake in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 41.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 104,898 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 73,641 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $16,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Ares Management by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 96,523 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,433,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Ares Management by 452.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 180,673 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,888,000 after buying an additional 147,977 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $574,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 389,225 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $62,242,000 after acquiring an additional 6,884 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 35,425.5% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 221,679 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,444,000 after acquiring an additional 221,055 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.67.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.3%

ARES opened at $108.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.47 and a twelve month high of $195.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.25.

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). The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.04%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 265.09%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $124.43 per share, with a total value of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. The trade was a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ares Management 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.