Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells $2,646,573.00 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $2.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.35. The company had a trading volume of 723,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,421. The firm has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.19, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.24. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $105.89 and a one year high of $175.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on 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 upped their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in Ares Management during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth about $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.