Advisors Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 397,039 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,321 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Ares Capital worth $8,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised 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 buying an additional 25,347 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $13,900,000 after acquiring an additional 127,219 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 43,056 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.1 %

Ares Capital stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,475,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,710,565. The stock has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.85 and a 200-day moving average of $21.92.

Remove Ads

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.