Verition Fund Management LLC Buys Shares of 73,878 Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 73,878 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,547,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $18,540,000 after buying an additional 38,559 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.7% during the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $80,338,000 after purchasing an additional 63,999 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,797 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 52,007 shares in the last quarter. Partners Group Holding AG grew its position in Ares Capital by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 1,787,401 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $37,428,000 after purchasing an additional 312,255 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 151.4% in the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 45,698 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 27,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,153,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,636,703. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.10. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $22.30.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 73.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Capital from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.29.

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.