David B. Kaplan Sells 15,816 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 15,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.25, for a total transaction of $2,645,226.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 214,409 shares in the company, valued at $35,859,905.25. The trade was a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $170.35 on Wednesday. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $105.89 and a twelve month high of $175.74. 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 stock has a market cap of $53.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.50, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.24.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 40.0% in the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.