Antony Ressler Sells 170,341 Shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Key Points

• Antony Ressler, Chairman of Ares Management, sold 170,341 shares at an average price of $175.78, resulting in a transaction worth approximately $29.94 million, which represents a 42.52% reduction in his holdings.
• Ares Management's stock experienced a 0.6% decline in trading, closing at $175.11, with a 50-day moving average of $181.96 and a 12-month range between $110.63 and $200.49.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, scheduled for payment on September 30th, with a current dividend yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 258.96%.

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) Chairman Antony Ressler sold 170,341 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.78, for a total transaction of $29,942,540.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 230,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,471,059.86. The trade was a 42.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Ares Management stock traded down $1.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $175.11. The company had a trading volume of 979,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,328,418. The company's 50-day moving average is $181.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.34. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.44.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 258.96%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 129.6% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,988 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,960 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 53,401 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,829,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 99.5% during the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 31,765 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,657,000 after acquiring an additional 15,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $667,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Ares Management from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Ares Management to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

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.

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