David B. Kaplan Sells 30,680 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 30,680 shares of the business’s 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $175.05 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $166.67 and a 200-day moving average of $150.83. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $107.69 and a twelve month high of $180.38. The firm has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.19.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 1.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,187,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ARES shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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, 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 research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

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.