Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler Sells 139,915 Shares

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 139,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.36, for a total value of $18,798,979.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 976,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,022,465. The stock has a market cap of $40.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.96, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.61. 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.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.17.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,485 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 2,624 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Ares Management by 172.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 32,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after buying an additional 20,816 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at $684,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,191,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $502,895,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in Ares Management by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 7,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.