Antony P. Ressler Sells 114,492 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 114,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.97, for a total transaction of $15,109,509.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ares Management Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $131.35 on Friday. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $77.97 and a twelve month high of $139.48. The firm has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $133.23 and a 200-day moving average of $118.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.17.

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.