Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.12

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of 1.12 per share by the asset manager on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93.

Ares Management has increased its dividend by an average of 25.5% annually over the last three years. Ares Management has a payout ratio of 54.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ares Management to earn $5.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.9%.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ARES stock traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $191.33. 1,619,560 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,101,521. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a PE ratio of 88.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $183.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.17. Ares Management has a 1-year low of $125.23 and a 1-year high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ARES shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,802,571.96. This trade represents a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 253,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,312,450. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 555,838 shares of company stock valued at $96,785,773. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.