Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells $16,978,128.65 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.69. 2,110,393 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,232,971. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a PE ratio of 75.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.48.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after buying an additional 678,549 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 137.0% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 11,987 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 6,930 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,476 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 36.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 61,170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,533,000 after purchasing an additional 16,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 181.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,525 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.