Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Sells 93,184 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 93,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.87, for a total transaction of $15,735,982.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 257,500 shares in the company, valued at $43,484,025. This trade represents a 26.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $168.56 on Tuesday. Ares Management Co. has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $148.97 and its 200-day moving average is $167.64. The company has a market capitalization of $55.05 billion, a PE ratio of 83.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 263.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ARES shares. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $142.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Ares Management from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

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.