Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler Sells 48,572 Shares

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 48,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.69, for a total transaction of $6,445,018.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $132.96 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.14 and a 200 day moving average of $116.56. The stock has a market cap of $41.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $77.97 and a 12 month high of $139.48. 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 data on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 155.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 149,920 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,829,000 after purchasing an additional 29,457 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,512 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Ares Management by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 125,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,859,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $623,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Ares Management by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 925,113 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $95,166,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.45.

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.