CCLA Investment Management Buys 12,588 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

CCLA Investment Management grew its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,680,650 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,588 shares during the quarter. CCLA Investment Management owned 0.27% of Ares Capital worth $34,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Ares Capital by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,681,109 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $243,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,166 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $86,227,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,492,247 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $72,778,000 after acquiring an additional 273,025 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,099,134 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $64,524,000 after purchasing an additional 223,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,138,203 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $44,560,000 after purchasing an additional 78,140 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.17 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.77. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $18.55 and a twelve month high of $21.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a net margin of 59.76% and a return on equity of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $714.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARCC. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.71.

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.