Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Buys 30,060 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,536 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 30,060 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 444.4% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth $55,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $18.75 on Friday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.17 and a 1-year high of $23.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Insider Activity

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

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.