Insider Selling: Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Sells 26,336 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $4,508,196.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 167,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,627,287.30. This trade represents a 13.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Bennett Rosenthal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 22nd, Bennett Rosenthal sold 18,389 shares of Ares Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.54, for a total value of $3,228,005.06.
• On Monday, November 18th, Bennett Rosenthal sold 15,763 shares of Ares Management stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,636,204.12.
• On Friday, November 15th, Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of Ares Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,356,837.12.
• On Thursday, September 12th, Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of Ares Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total transaction of $10,728,750.00.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,579 shares of Ares Management stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.66, for a total transaction of $3,791,760.14.
• On Thursday, August 29th, Bennett Rosenthal sold 13,533 shares of Ares Management stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.12, for a total value of $1,963,908.96.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $175.46 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a 1-year low of $107.69 and a 1-year high of $176.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $54.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.13.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Ares Management by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 192,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,674,000 after purchasing an additional 38,047 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 82,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,000,000 after buying an additional 26,012 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth about $264,729,000. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth approximately $696,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Ares Management by 36.7% in the second quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 53,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,104,000 after acquiring an additional 14,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

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.