Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 2,414 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 192,804 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,414 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.11 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.80 and its 200 day moving average is $21.99. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. 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 8.68%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

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.