Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Sells $6,486,000.00 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total value of $6,486,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $129.53 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a one year low of $77.97 and a one year high of $139.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.22 and a 200-day moving average of $119.73. The company has a market capitalization of $40.10 billion, a PE ratio of 54.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 155.65%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.17.

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.