Michael J. Arougheti Sells 93,184 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 93,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.87, for a total value of $15,735,982.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,500 shares in the company, valued at $43,484,025. The trade was a 26.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $168.56. The stock had a trading volume of 940,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,787. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.05 billion, a PE ratio of 83.03, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.60.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $951.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $914.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 263.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Ares Management from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Management from $156.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $126,622,000 after acquiring an additional 32,273 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $1,498,000. Finally, Soros Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $10,144,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.