Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti Sells 20,096 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.7 %

ARES opened at $170.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.50, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC increased its position 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.