Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Sells $22,971,637.10 in Stock

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony Ressler sold 128,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total value of $22,971,637.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $182.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.65. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $59.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.44.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 258.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 0.8% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,403 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter valued at $291,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter valued at $525,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the second quarter valued at $359,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Ares Management by 20.5% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,201 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.