Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Castle Wealth Management LLC

Castle Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 48,310 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,414 shares during the period. Castle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $102,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. B. Riley boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.9 %

ARCC stock opened at $22.91 on Thursday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The firm has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.44 and its 200-day moving average is $21.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.38%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.