Antony P. Ressler Sells 139,915 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 139,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.36, for a total value of $18,798,979.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $131.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.96, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $77.97 and a 52-week high of $139.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Ares Management by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 647 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Company Profile

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.