Truist Financial Corp Sells 81,414 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 560,757 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 81,414 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.18% of Ares Management worth $99,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 18,232 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.54, for a total value of $3,200,445.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,397,923.54. This represents a 13.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 447,080 shares of company stock valued at $80,060,323 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Management Trading Down 3.7 %

ARES stock traded down $6.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $179.90. 1,383,141 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,073,956. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management Co. has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $56.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's fifty day moving average is $185.17 and its 200-day moving average is $167.94.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

About Ares Management

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.