Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,534,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,825 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $565,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARES. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 3.1% during the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 630 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,576 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.0% during the second quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ares Management from $201.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price objective on Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Ares Management from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.79.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE ARES opened at $149.73 on Friday. Ares Management Corporation has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $48.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.88.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.8438 per share. This represents a $3.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 192.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 186,197 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.75, for a total value of $28,441,591.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 290,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,449,791.75. This represents a 39.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 590,000 shares of company stock worth $90,653,808. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.