Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Sells $2,529,298.76 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 18,881 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.96, for a total transaction of $2,529,298.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock opened at $133.28 on Thursday. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $77.97 and a fifty-two week high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.56.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 155.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 68.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,485 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 2,624 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 172.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 32,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 20,816 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth $684,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,191,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $502,895,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 12.4% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 7,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.