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 Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.97, for a total transaction of $15,109,509.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES traded down $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $131.34. 976,755 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,022,465. The company has a market cap of $40.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.61. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $862.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,485 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 2,624 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Ares Management by 172.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 32,899 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after acquiring an additional 20,816 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth $684,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,191,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $502,895,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 7,460 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.17.

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.