Antony P. Ressler Sells 18,881 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 18,881 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.96, for a total transaction of $2,529,298.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $133.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $41.26 billion, a PE ratio of 55.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $77.97 and a 12 month high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.56.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $862.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 155.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARES. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 210.5% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 354 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 300.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 400 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.