Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 30,802 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 11.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 227,316 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 30,802 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 5.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 582,578 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,129,000 after acquiring an additional 29,671 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 389,236 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $7,913,000 after purchasing an additional 20,202 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 614.8% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,198 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 6,191 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,497,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $123,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.1 %

Ares Capital stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,456,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,494,659. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $18.55 and a 12 month high of $21.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.58.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

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.