Michael J. Arougheti Sells 110,845 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,110,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,971. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 52 week low of $125.23 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 183.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Ares Management by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.83.

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.