Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells 115,838 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE ARES opened at $176.07 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.41 and a fifty-two week high of $180.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.12 billion, a PE ratio of 81.14, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly 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. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. 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. UBS Group upped their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 40.0% in the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 80.4% in the second quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.