Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider David B. Kaplan Sells 26,518 Shares

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

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $0.45 on Friday, reaching $175.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 940,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,876. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick 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’s 50-day moving average is $163.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.86, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 (DPR) is 171.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Curated Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 199.7% during the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,658,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $221,007,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321,434 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter worth about $264,729,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 58.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $674,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,933 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $209,884,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 722.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,738,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $231,660,000 after buying an additional 1,526,856 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ARES shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. UBS Group upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

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.