Blue Trust Inc. Decreases Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 36.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,601 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 909 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,455 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 11,218 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ARCC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 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 issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

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.