Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by CCLA Investment Management

Key Points

• CCLA Investment Management increased its position in Ares Capital Corporation shares by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, now owning approximately 0.41% of the company worth $62 million.
• Ares Capital's latest quarterly earnings reported $0.50 earnings per share, missing estimates by $0.01, while revenue came in at $614 million, significantly below the expected $748.76 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing an annualized amount of $1.92, with a yield of 8.6%, and a payout ratio of 93.66%.

CCLA Investment Management lifted its position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 26.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,799,023 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 587,068 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management owned 0.41% of Ares Capital worth $62,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,951,926 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $174,068,000 after purchasing an additional 871,370 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,567,816 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $79,063,000 after purchasing an additional 293,442 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,651 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $77,133,000 after purchasing an additional 105,526 shares during the last quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 8.4% in the first quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,975,197 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $65,930,000 after acquiring an additional 230,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,678,525 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $58,633,000 after buying an additional 1,198,580 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.31. 1,098,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,583,310. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.26 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%. The company had revenue of $614.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $748.76 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. Analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.6%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 93.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, B. Riley raised shares of Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.86.

About Ares Capital

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.