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

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 18,259 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 116,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,424,891.40. This represents a 13.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $175.52 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.69 and a 200 day moving average of $149.29. The company has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 80.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $107.69 and a 12-month high of $176.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,036,000. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $641,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $905,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.