Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,667 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,797 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $21.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.89.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARCC. 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. boosted their target price 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 raised their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.