Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 31.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 678,549 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.92% of Ares Management worth $444,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Curated Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 199.7% during the 2nd quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,658,217 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $221,007,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,434 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management in the first quarter valued at about $264,729,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Ares Management by 58.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $674,183,000 after buying an additional 1,867,933 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $209,884,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 722.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,738,148 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $231,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,856 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ARES shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $148.00 to $146.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock traded down $4.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $168.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,569,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,161,429. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $157.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.19. The company has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management Co. has a 1 year low of $101.44 and a 1 year high of $175.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 20.51%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 304,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total value of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 304,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 27,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,942,995.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 222,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,474,504.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 622,640 shares of company stock worth $91,378,848 in the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.