Ares Management Corporation $ARES Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Ares Management stake by 4.4% in Q1, buying an additional 169,598 shares and bringing its holdings to 4,009,291 shares valued at about $437.4 million.
• Ares Management reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $1.24 missed expectations, while revenue of $1.40 billion came in above estimates. Analysts still expect the company to earn 6.03 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.35, or $5.40 annualized, for a yield of 4.5%, but its payout ratio is elevated at 251.16%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,009,291 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 169,598 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.22% of Ares Management worth $437,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,955 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $396,165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $883,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,460 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $922,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,174 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 40,652.1% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 807,300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $130,484,000 after purchasing an additional 805,319 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $120.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Ares Management Corporation has a 52-week low of $95.80 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.08.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 22.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Ares Management's payout ratio is 251.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised Ares Management from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $144.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $159.53.

Ares Management Profile

Ares Management Corporation NYSE: ARES is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ARES? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.