Sage Advisors LLC Purchases 54,063 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sage Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 964,688 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,063 shares during the period. Ares Capital accounts for approximately 15.8% of Sage Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Sage Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Ares Capital worth $21,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 82.2% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.47. 3,539,649 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,468,763. The company has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.66. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.