Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by Focus Financial Network Inc.

Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,988 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,509 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ARCC opened at $22.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.21. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.55.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its 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 net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 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, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

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.