Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells $5,404,588.80 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 30,680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.16, for a total transaction of $5,404,588.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $2.79 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $173.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 898,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,677. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.62. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $107.69 and a 12-month high of $180.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $54.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARES. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 6.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Ares Management by 45.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 82,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,000,000 after purchasing an additional 26,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retireful LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the second quarter worth about $696,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.