Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) is Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s Largest Position

Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 898,617 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 38,559 shares during the period. Ares Capital comprises approximately 13.3% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Muzinich & Co. Inc. owned about 0.14% of Ares Capital worth $18,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital by 62.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter worth $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.86.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ARCC opened at $21.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $22.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.93%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

About Ares Capital

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.