Truist Financial Corp Sells 29,221 Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Truist Financial Corp lowered its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing 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 period. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.21% of Ares Management worth $76,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARES. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,836,590 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $600,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,866 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth approximately $93,682,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 91.2% in the third quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,464,266 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $150,629,000 after acquiring an additional 698,246 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 53.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,461,097 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $150,303,000 after acquiring an additional 506,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth approximately $39,559,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $126.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $170,004,636.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,245,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,004,636.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $18,880,759.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946. Company insiders own 47.34% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE:ARES traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.62. 501,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,089,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management Co. has a twelve month low of $77.97 and a twelve month high of $139.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.07 and a 200 day moving average of $120.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $862.71 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 155.65%.

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.