Muzinich & Co. Inc. Buys 38,559 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 898,617 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,559 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital makes up 13.3% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Muzinich & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Ares Capital worth $18,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 8.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,656,154 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $272,107,000 after buying an additional 975,045 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $80,338,000 after purchasing an additional 63,999 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2,104.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $756,620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,395 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 8.5% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,492,247 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $72,778,000 after purchasing an additional 273,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.7% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,217,277 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $46,430,000 after purchasing an additional 79,074 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $21.51. 3,733,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,126,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.93%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.86.

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.