Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider R. Kipp Deveer Sells 78,933 Shares

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

R. Kipp Deveer also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 6th, R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54.

Ares Management Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $186.40 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $125.23 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight 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 an average price target of $176.17.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $923,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 10.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 400.0% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.