17,196 Shares in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Acquired by Compass Capital Corp MA ADV

Compass Capital Corp MA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,196 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after acquiring an additional 25,347 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,900,000 after acquiring an additional 127,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $18,540,000 after purchasing an additional 38,559 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $23.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.70. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARCC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 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 reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

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.