Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells 25,843 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.16, for a total value of $4,423,287.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 167,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,705,414.76. The trade was a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $175.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 80.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $107.69 and a one year high of $176.83.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS 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. Investors 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 yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 40.0% during 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 bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.