Antony P. Ressler Sells 143,569 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 143,569 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.51, for a total value of $18,880,759.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.9 %

Ares Management stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $129.53. 1,158,081 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,030,055. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.10 billion, a PE ratio of 54.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $77.97 and a 52 week high of $139.48.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.71 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in Ares Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 17.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 647 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 66.7% during the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.