Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Sold by Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,625 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,550 shares during the period. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 320.7% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its position in Ares Capital by 193.9% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,828 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 121.1% during the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Ares Capital by 281.3% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.44 on Friday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The stock has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.53 and a 200 day moving average of $21.90.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 44.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $614.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $748.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. B. Riley raised shares of Ares Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.86.

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.