Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells 36,059 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 36,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $5,277,234.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,715,346.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES traded down $0.82 on Tuesday, hitting $146.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 967,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,138,111. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.81. The firm has a market cap of $45.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $96.00 and a 12 month high of $155.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 166.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,207,381,000 after purchasing an additional 206,996 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $674,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,933 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $460,525,000 after purchasing an additional 71,819 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $376,191,000 after purchasing an additional 933,664 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $308,754,000 after purchasing an additional 453,657 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ARES shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.92.

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.