Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells 29,292 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 29,292 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total value of $5,150,119.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 86,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,280,340.38. This represents a 25.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.3 %

ARES opened at $174.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $107.69 and a 52 week high of $180.38. The stock has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 80.54, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $165.56 and a 200-day moving average of $150.13.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the 2nd 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 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.