Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 38.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 106,355 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 29,330 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $23.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.79.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Ares Capital Company 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.