Columbus Macro LLC Buys 49,758 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Columbus Macro LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 554,804 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 49,758 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital makes up 1.2% of Columbus Macro LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Columbus Macro LLC owned 0.08% of Ares Capital worth $11,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth $223,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 117.2% during the fourth quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 64,328 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 34,707 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 145,688 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 72,621 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 10,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank grew its position in Ares Capital by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 534,586 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $10,815,000 after purchasing an additional 4,392 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC opened at $17.45 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $23.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.95.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 103.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company 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.