Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Acquired by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 15.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 266,685 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,358 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $5,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 825.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $77,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167,906 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $140,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,460 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 56.9% in the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,342,324 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $51,437,000 after acquiring an additional 849,097 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 8.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $190,572,000 after acquiring an additional 705,882 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $19.30 on Wednesday. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.70. The company has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

Ares Capital Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.