Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,534 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 911 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $99,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% during the 3rd 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. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.5 %

ARCC opened at $23.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.33%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. B. Riley raised their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

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.