Michael J. Arougheti Sells 25,843 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 25,843 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.16, for a total transaction of $4,423,287.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 167,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,705,414.76. This trade represents a 13.35 % 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $175.52 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $107.69 and a twelve month high of $176.83. The company has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $163.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,036,000. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $641,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $905,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter worth approximately $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.