Atria Investments Inc Acquires 39,420 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 76.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,676 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,420 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $23.01 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.91 and a 200-day moving average of $21.88.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 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 expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.34%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

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.