Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 42,836 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 58.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,122 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 42,836 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,141,000. Delta Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,112 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 1,936 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 708,916 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $15,518,000 after buying an additional 27,192 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 38,565 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 3,168 shares during the period. Finally, Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $6,635,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.05. 4,007,420 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,285,485. The stock has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $22.84 and its 200-day moving average is $21.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.33%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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