Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,434 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 22,048 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Ares Capital worth $8,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.5% in the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,809 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,961 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.6% in the first quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 104,519 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ARCC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. B. Riley upgraded Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.21.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $23.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 964,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,203,899. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.04). Ares Capital had a net margin of 43.50% and a return on equity of 11.05%. The business had revenue of $599.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Ares Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.25%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

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.