M&G PLC Has $3.30 Million Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

M&G PLC lessened its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 45.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 139,500 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 8.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,006,460 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,955,567 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $108,799,000 after acquiring an additional 252,947 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,794,378 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $83,353,000 after acquiring an additional 225,984 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 825.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $77,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,167,906 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $19.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.63. The company has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Ares Capital

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.