Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells 30,680 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 30,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.16, for a total value of $5,404,588.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock traded down $2.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $173.94. The company had a trading volume of 898,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,677. 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 has a market capitalization of $54.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.32 and its 200-day moving average is $150.62. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $107.69 and a 12-month high of $180.38.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,830,000 after purchasing an additional 18,773 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,798 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after acquiring an additional 3,715 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc raised 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 buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $2,036,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.