Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.12

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 1.12 per share by the asset manager on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93.

Ares Management has raised its dividend payment by an average of 25.5% per year over the last three years. Ares Management has a dividend payout ratio of 54.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ares Management to earn $5.56 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.9%.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $191.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,619,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,101,521. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.17. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,802,571.96. This trade represents a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

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.