Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells $2,645,226.00 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 15,816 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.25, for a total value of $2,645,226.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 214,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,859,905.25. This trade represents a 6.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $175.19 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $107.69 and a 52-week high of $176.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.73, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $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 dividend payout ratio is 171.43%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

About Ares Management

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.