Partners Group Holding AG Decreases Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Partners Group Holding AG trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Partners Group Holding AG owned approximately 0.24% of Ares Capital worth $34,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $84,426,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $309,649,000 after buying an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $48,419,000 after acquiring an additional 531,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,400,539 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $30,658,000 after acquiring an additional 458,360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.1 %

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

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.