Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells 110,845 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,438,000. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $145.07 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.25. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $45.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $10,687,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in Ares Management by 1,693.9% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 36,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,387,000 after acquiring an additional 34,065 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,503,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,697 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ARES. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

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.