Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider David B. Kaplan Sells 14,536 Shares

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.63, for a total transaction of $2,116,877.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.4 %

ARES stock opened at $146.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $96.00 and a 52 week high of $155.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a PE ratio of 65.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.32 and a 200 day moving average of $137.99.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. The company had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 166.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,207,381,000 after purchasing an additional 206,996 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 58.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $674,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,933 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $460,525,000 after purchasing an additional 71,819 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 49.4% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,822,565 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $376,191,000 after purchasing an additional 933,664 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,316,584 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $308,754,000 after purchasing an additional 453,657 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.92.

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.