Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 71.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,305 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,423 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,842 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,635 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 25,070 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 12,535 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ARCC stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.38. 3,864,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,295,037. The company has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $22.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. 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 released 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 return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ARCC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.