LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Takes $7.43 Million Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 412,481 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,433,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. owned 0.06% of Ares Capital as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 315,183 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $5,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 223.9% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,893 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 28,960 shares during the last quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 17.6% during the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 78,794 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 11,787 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at about $268,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Ares Capital by 1,946.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 115,749 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 110,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.78. 4,158,632 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,969,911. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.67 and a 200 day moving average of $19.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $23.42. The company has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.56.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.Ares Capital’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ARCC shares. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.60.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.