Norges Bank Makes New $396.17 Million Investment in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,451,063 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $396,165,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,902 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 708.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 493 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.1%

ARES opened at $128.69 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.85 and a 200 day moving average of $135.92. The company has a market cap of $42.45 billion, a PE ratio of 59.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.50. Ares Management Corporation has a 12 month low of $95.80 and a 12 month high of $195.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.54%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 251.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $178.00 to $163.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Ares Management from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $148.00 price objective on Ares Management in a report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.56.

Ares Management Company 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.