Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Trading Down 6.7% – Should You Sell?

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) shares traded down 6.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $124.36 and last traded at $125.0280. 998,423 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 3,137,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ARES shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ares Management from $201.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Raymond James Financial raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Ares Management from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.47.

Ares Management Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $41.51 billion, a PE ratio of 75.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts expect that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 265.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 186,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.75, for a total value of $28,441,591.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 290,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,449,791.75. This represents a 39.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 590,000 shares of company stock worth $90,653,808 over the last three months. Insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $396,165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $883,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,460 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Ares Management by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $922,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $161,774,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high?net?worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.