Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael Arougheti Sells 112,806 Shares of Stock

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael Arougheti sold 112,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.15, for a total value of $16,937,820.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 477,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,650,679.10. The trade was a 19.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $2.74 on Tuesday, hitting $152.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,384,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,704,514. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.74 and a 200 day moving average of $168.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.35, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.8438 dividend. This represents a $3.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 192.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ares Management from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,676,470 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,465,851,000 after purchasing an additional 740,103 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,308,330 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,218,084,000 after purchasing an additional 30,451 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,243,194 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $678,448,000 after buying an additional 15,913 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,534,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $565,180,000 after buying an additional 94,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 7.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $596,280,000 after buying an additional 244,286 shares during 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.