Ascent Capital Management LLC Takes $516,000 Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Ascent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 23,558 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $516,000. Ares Capital comprises about 0.5% of Ascent Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,086 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,455 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ARCC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ARCC traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $21.73. 4,607,775 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,694,791. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $22.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 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.