Commerce Bank Purchases 18,000 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 57.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,348 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 115,744 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at about $252,000. Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 439,503 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 18,056 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Ares Capital by 382.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 61,609 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,290,000 after buying an additional 48,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 63,385 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.0 %

Ares Capital stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,818,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,077,522. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $21.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.93.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.10%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.33.

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.