Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells 20,096 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ares Management Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $54.84 billion, a PE ratio of 80.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $163.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.86.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ARES. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.36.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.