Michael J. Arougheti Sells 4,488 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 4,488 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total value of $601,436.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,263,750. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.5 %

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

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. 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. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. 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, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 38,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $1,100,000. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $349,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,392,349 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,949,378,000 after acquiring an additional 631,334 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.