D.A. Davidson & CO. Reduces Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 851,480 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,964 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. owned approximately 0.13% of Ares Capital worth $18,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ARCC. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 144,139 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,892 shares during the last quarter. 5T Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $449,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 589,640 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,907,000 after acquiring an additional 247,245 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $2,289,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $23.27 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.62. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.25%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 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 reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.