WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 5,374 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 30.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,548 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 5,374 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 62.7% during the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,354 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.17 on Wednesday. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.55 and a fifty-two week high of $21.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.79 and its 200 day moving average is $20.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 59.76% and a return on equity of 12.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.52%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.71.

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.