384,308 Shares in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Purchased by Vista Finance LLC

Vista Finance LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 384,308 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $8,413,000. Ares Capital makes up 8.6% of Vista Finance LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Vista Finance LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ares Capital as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 25,347 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 24.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $13,900,000 after purchasing an additional 127,219 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $18,540,000 after purchasing an additional 38,559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ ARCC traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.47. 3,520,714 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,468,526. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.18%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARCC. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.94.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.