Michael Arougheti Sells 98,673 Shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael Arougheti sold 98,673 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $15,407,788.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,784,530.55. This represents a 63.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of ARES traded up $2.71 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $159.56. 2,114,525 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,699,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a PE ratio of 92.23, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $151.70 and its 200-day moving average is $167.90. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.8438 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 192.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 100.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 190 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ares Management from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.46.

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.