Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells 26,518 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 26,518 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $4,539,351.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 167,891 shares in the company, valued at $28,739,581.38. This represents a 13.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $175.52 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.69 and its 200-day moving average is $149.29. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $107.69 and a 52 week high of $176.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 80.88, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased 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 valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.