Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. sold 55,880 shares of Ares Management Corporation, reducing its holdings by 88.7% to 7,100 shares worth approximately $1,041,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider transactions reported include Chairman Bennett Rosenthal selling 85,000 shares valued at around $14.3 million and a total of 873,145 shares sold by insiders worth over $146 million in the last ninety days.
• Ares Management's stock has seen a target price range from $161.00 to $200.00 by various brokerages, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a current trading price around $187.99.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 88.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,100 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 55,880 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 125.6% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $189.30. 429,131 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,649,670. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.40. Ares Management Corporation has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.80.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $1.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 258.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 33,145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.12, for a total value of $5,472,902.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 107,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $17,344,050.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at $225,876,000. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353. Insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.19.

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.