Cerity Partners LLC Has $7.79 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 371,874 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 32,957 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Ares Capital worth $7,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,262,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,410,869. The company has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.01. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $21.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.06. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.15.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 73.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.86.

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.