Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells $30,971,107.56 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 182,108 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.07, for a total value of $30,971,107.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 350,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,640,827.88. This represents a 34.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.9%

ARES traded down $1.59 on Monday, reaching $168.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 940,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,787. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $55.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 263.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ARES. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer cut Ares Management from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price objective on Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

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.