Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Buys 278,797 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2,224.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 291,333 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 278,797 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $5,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baron Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Baron Financial Group LLC now owns 18,366 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Syntal Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.3% in the third quarter. Syntal Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,346 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108,577 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 35,595 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.4% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 14,067 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. B. Riley cut shares of Ares Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.43.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.80. 1,673,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,517,697. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.09. The firm has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.99. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $21.04.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.23%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 65.75%.

Ares Capital Company 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.