Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti Sells 182,108 Shares

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

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $165.98 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $149.49 and a 200-day moving average of $167.63.

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

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ARES. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.50.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the first quarter worth $28,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.