Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Bennett Rosenthal Sells 50,000 Shares

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total transaction of $6,486,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $0.64 on Wednesday, hitting $131.53. The company had a trading volume of 887,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,027,004. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $77.97 and a twelve month high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.40 and a 200-day moving average of $119.38.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock 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 given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.17.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.