Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Insider Sells $11,192,990.74 in Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total transaction of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Down 9.1 %

Shares of ARES traded down $14.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $140.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,160,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,196,968. 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 market capitalization of $44.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.27. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Remove Ads

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 104.8% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.17.

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.