Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Has $15.02 Million Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 64.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 686,316 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 269,680 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC owned 0.11% of Ares Capital worth $15,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $22.78 on Wednesday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.43%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.