Autumn Glory Partners LLC Lowers Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Autumn Glory Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,535 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 12,535 shares during the quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Palacios Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $646,000. Values Added Financial LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 27,980 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 82.2% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 59,385 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Ares Capital by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $309,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.47. 3,539,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,468,763. The stock has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.01. 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 one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.66.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 8.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

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.