Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Purchased by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 71.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,305 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 67,423 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.22 on Tuesday. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.73. The company has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted 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 net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 8.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.94.

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.