Larson Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,421 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,604 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $272,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $223,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 113.5% during the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 134,314 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,813,000 after buying an additional 71,403 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 8.2% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 51,256 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $21.75. The company had a trading volume of 6,096,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,682,287. 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 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.90.

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Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 8.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.94.

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.