Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells 19,775 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 19,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.45, for a total value of $3,311,323.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 230,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,551,176.25. This trade represents a 7.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $2.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $170.35. The company’s stock 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 P/E ratio of 77.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $105.89 and a 1-year high of $175.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $161.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.24. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,207,381,000 after acquiring an additional 206,996 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $982,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,851 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Ares Management by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after purchasing an additional 187,184 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 6.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $459,580,000 after purchasing an additional 175,627 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.