PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 39,650 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 128.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,424 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 39,650 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Ares Management were worth $12,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 336 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $143.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $45.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $180.78 and a 200 day moving average of $170.23.

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Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (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 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction 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 $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARES. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.17.

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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