Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells $4,423,287.88 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.16, for a total transaction of $4,423,287.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,711 shares in the company, valued at $28,705,414.76. This trade represents a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $175.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 940,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,876. The company has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 80.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.69 and a 200 day moving average of $149.13. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $107.69 and a 12 month high of $176.83.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 171.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in Ares Management in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

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.