Altshuler Shaham Ltd Makes New $33.38 Million Investment in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Altshuler Shaham Ltd initiated a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter, buying 1.65 million shares worth about $33.38 million.
• Ares Capital shares were down 2.8% to $18.10, and the stock has traded between a 52-week low of $17.40 and high of $23.42.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.47 per share, slightly below estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, implying a 10.6% yield.

Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,650,000 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $33,380,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd owned about 0.23% of Ares Capital as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Ares Capital by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,558,581 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $355,210,000 after acquiring an additional 341,578 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $226,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,890 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,408,067 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $109,432,000 after purchasing an additional 761,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,387,637 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $88,762,000 after purchasing an additional 63,796 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $18.10 on Thursday. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.32. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.56.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The business had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $778.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.65.

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.

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