Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Sells 69,809 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $155.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a PE ratio of 76.41, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $182.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.09. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ARES shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.17.

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.