Commerce Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 57.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,348 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $84,426,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $309,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,552 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,268,547 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $93,439,000 after acquiring an additional 881,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management increased its position in Ares Capital by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $48,419,000 after purchasing an additional 531,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.11. The company had a trading volume of 2,818,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,090,548. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $18.26 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.10%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Ares Capital 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.