Truist Financial Corp Cuts Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Truist Financial Corp cut its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 87.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,167 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 868,467 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1,865.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,214,991 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $844,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000,570 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,441,256 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $144,881,000 after buying an additional 708,568 shares in the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,992,000. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,952,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 484.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 699,265 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,615,000 after acquiring an additional 579,582 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.11. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 0.99. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $18.00 and a 52-week high of $21.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.43.

Ares Capital Company 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.