Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp cut its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 645,458 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 29,221 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $76,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 33.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 318 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.62. The company had a trading volume of 501,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,258. The stock has a market cap of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.88, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a 12 month low of $77.97 and a 12 month high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.93 dividend. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ARES shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.17.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 143,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.51, for a total value of $18,880,759.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 50,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total value of $6,486,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 143,569 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.51, for a total value of $18,880,759.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946 in the last three months. 47.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Management 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.