Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells $2,645,226.00 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 15,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.25, for a total transaction of $2,645,226.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 214,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,859,905.25. The trade was a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $2.92 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.35. 723,417 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,157,421. The stock has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.24. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $105.89 and a 52-week high of $175.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly 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. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 32.5% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,705,000 after acquiring an additional 4,996 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 24.6% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 192,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,674,000 after purchasing an additional 38,047 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 82,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,000,000 after buying an additional 26,012 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth about $264,729,000. Finally, Retireful LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $696,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Company Profile

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.