Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells $11,192,990.74 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,906,009.26. This trade represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $155.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.91. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. 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 company has a market cap of $48.56 billion, a PE ratio of 76.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Ares Management by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 121,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,881,000 after purchasing an additional 9,038 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Ares Management by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,924 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 68,791 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.