Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management sharply increased its position in Ares Capital by 398.1% in the first quarter, adding 843,313 shares to reach 1,055,150 shares worth about $19.0 million.
• Other major institutions also boosted holdings, including Morgan Stanley, UBS Group, and Bank of America, and institutional investors now own 27.38% of Ares Capital’s stock.
• Ares Capital reported Q1 EPS of $0.47, missing estimates by a penny, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, implying an annualized yield of 10.5%.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 398.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,055,150 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 843,313 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC owned 0.15% of Ares Capital worth $19,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the subject of several research reports. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.65.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $18.21 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average is $18.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.18. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.56.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.5%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 117.79%.

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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