Michael J. Arougheti Sells 20,096 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:ARES traded up $2.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $170.35. The company had a trading volume of 723,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,421. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.19, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $105.89 and a 1 year high of $175.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 1.4% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

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.