Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Position Reduced by Partners Group Holding AG

Partners Group Holding AG lowered its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,596,590 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 190,811 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital accounts for about 1.3% of Partners Group Holding AG’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Partners Group Holding AG’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $34,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.85 and its 200-day moving average is $21.92. The company has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its 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 net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.82%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

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.