Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells $4,423,287.88 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.16, for a total transaction of $4,423,287.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,705,414.76. This trade represents a 13.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $175.46. 940,865 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,876. The company has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $107.69 and a 12 month high of $176.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.