Michael Arougheti Sells 186,197 Shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael Arougheti sold 186,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.75, for a total transaction of $28,441,591.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 290,997 shares in the company, valued at $44,449,791.75. This represents a 39.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ARES stock opened at $154.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45. Ares Management Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.26.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.8438 per share. This represents a $3.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 192.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ARES shares. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Ares Management from $175.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth $328,910,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,936,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,626,179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,746,376 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth $161,774,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ares Management by 487.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 912,656 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,925,000 after purchasing an additional 757,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 1,172.9% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 622,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $99,579,000 after purchasing an additional 573,870 shares in the last quarter. 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.