Summit Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 37,931 Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 37,931 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $830,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,426,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $309,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,268,547 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $93,439,000 after purchasing an additional 881,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management increased its stake in Ares Capital by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $48,419,000 after purchasing an additional 531,305 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Trading Down 7.2 %

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded down $1.55 on Friday, reaching $19.97. 17,636,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,829,365. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 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 year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.