Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells $4,539,351.24 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 26,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $4,539,351.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 167,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,739,581.38. The trade was a 13.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $175.52 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.29. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $107.69 and a 52 week high of $176.83. The stock has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.88, a PEG 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.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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 target price on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. 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.