Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 483,197 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,144,796 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 483,197 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $25,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $84,426,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Ares Capital by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $309,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,552 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,268,547 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $93,439,000 after acquiring an additional 881,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $48,419,000 after purchasing an additional 531,305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $19.91 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.11 and its 200 day moving average is $21.98.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.64%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut 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 shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.81.

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.