Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 650,163 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 127,219 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.10% of Ares Capital worth $13,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,318 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 861,594 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $17,956,000 after buying an additional 94,665 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 625,218 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $13,030,000 after buying an additional 42,640 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 10.0% during the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 165,289 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,445,000 after acquiring an additional 15,084 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock opened at $21.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $21.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.13. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $22.43. The firm has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ARCC. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital 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.