Activest Wealth Management Has $1.53 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Activest Wealth Management trimmed its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 69,967 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 751 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital comprises approximately 0.4% of Activest Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Activest Wealth Management’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after buying an additional 25,347 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,900,000 after acquiring an additional 127,219 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $18,540,000 after buying an additional 38,559 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.74 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.40 and its 200 day moving average is $21.54.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

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.