CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Increases Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 484,972 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,020 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC owned 0.07% of Ares Capital worth $9,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the first quarter worth about $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $62,824,000 after buying an additional 358,829 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 139.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,655 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 16,128 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $14,766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In other news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC opened at $17.96 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.13. The firm has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $793.00 million for 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 103.23%.

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.