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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.82, for a total transaction of $5,150,119.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 86,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,280,340.38. This trade represents a 25.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $2.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $178.81. 1,586,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,162,642. The company has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.78. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $107.69 and a 12 month high of $178.88.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 80.4% during the second quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.