Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 352,126 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,201,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 352,126 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $566,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $4,508,196.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 167,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,627,287.30. The trade was a 13.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 525,777 shares of company stock worth $93,531,158. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.9 %

ARES opened at $186.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $184.65 and its 200 day moving average is $167.11. The stock has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

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.