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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.36, for a total transaction of $18,798,979.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock opened at $131.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.95, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $77.97 and a 1 year high of $139.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.79.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARES. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.