StoneX Group Inc. Reduces Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

StoneX Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,089 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,204 shares during the quarter. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,253 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,991 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 5,403 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 36,029 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 10,858 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Planning Group LLC now owns 86,775 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 353,718 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,407,000 after buying an additional 31,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC opened at $22.02 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.05.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

Ares Capital 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.