Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider David B. Kaplan Sells 18,259 Shares

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 18,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.55, for a total transaction of $3,205,367.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 116,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,424,891.40. This trade represents a 13.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Ares Management stock opened at $175.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $107.69 and a fifty-two week high of $176.83. The company has a market cap of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 80.86, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.13.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 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 period. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.