Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Cuts Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE trimmed its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 44.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,872 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 113,075 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 5,403 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 15,098 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 25.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 222,101 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 44,548 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 331.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 178,224 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,732,000 after buying an additional 136,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $22.23 on Thursday. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.95.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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