R. Kipp Deveer Sells 115,838 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $182.45 on Thursday. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $110.41 and a 1 year high of $183.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a PE ratio of 84.08, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.17.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.43%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,301,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $982,058,000 after acquiring an additional 63,851 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 58.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after buying an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ares Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,826,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,318,000 after acquiring an additional 187,184 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,678,177 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,830,000 after acquiring an additional 18,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,950,451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $459,580,000 after acquiring an additional 175,627 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.