Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Midwest Professional Planners LTD.

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. reduced its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 40.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,665 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 35,630 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.'s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $309,649,000 after buying an additional 1,489,552 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,387,097 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $70,926,000 after purchasing an additional 104,710 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,159,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,314,269 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $50,659,000 after purchasing an additional 96,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $48,419,000 after purchasing an additional 531,305 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.82. 4,302,596 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,697,396. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.91.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.80%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.