Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys 70,000 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 35.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 266,903 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $5,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 62.7% in the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 88.9% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Compass Point raised Ares Capital to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.86.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.83. 4,241,935 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,391,980. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.85%.

Ares Capital 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.