HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,400,539 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 458,360 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Ares Capital worth $30,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position 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 worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.7 %

Ares Capital stock opened at $21.28 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.88 and a 200 day moving average of $21.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.02%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Raymond James lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

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.