Trust Co. of Vermont Purchases 4,799 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 33.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,181 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 4,799 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2,104.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $756,620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,395 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Ares Capital by 8.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,656,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $272,107,000 after buying an additional 975,045 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management increased its stake in Ares Capital by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $48,419,000 after acquiring an additional 531,305 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,815,000. Finally, Partners Group Holding AG lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 1,787,401 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $37,428,000 after acquiring an additional 312,255 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.29. The company has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.28%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.29.

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.