Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases 30,775 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,384 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 30,775 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded up $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $23.08. 2,946,135 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,552,546. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The firm has a market cap of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.32%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

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.