Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 118,178 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 56.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 92,472 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 118,178 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Ares Capital by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 18.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $140,651,000 after buying an additional 1,006,460 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,955,567 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $108,799,000 after buying an additional 252,947 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital by 6.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,794,378 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $83,353,000 after buying an additional 225,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ares Capital by 825.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $77,996,000 after buying an additional 3,167,906 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.9%

ARCC stock opened at $19.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.45. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.17 and a 12 month high of $23.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.