David B. Kaplan Sells 19,775 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) insider David B. Kaplan sold 19,775 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.45, for a total value of $3,311,323.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 230,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,551,176.25. This trade represents a 7.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $171.89 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $161.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $105.89 and a 52 week high of $175.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.16%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in Ares Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.