Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 141,686 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,142,995 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 141,686 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.44% of Ares Capital worth $64,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fountainhead AM LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 5.5% during the second quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 65,514 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,394 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 32,245 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.30 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.70. The firm has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $23.63.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

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.