Sage Advisors LLC Raises Position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sage Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 998,486 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,798 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital comprises approximately 15.6% of Sage Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Sage Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Ares Capital worth $22,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,809 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $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 1st quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,961 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 104,519 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.38. 2,213,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,206,623. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $21.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.93. The company has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.67. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve 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.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.58%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 93.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. B. Riley raised shares of Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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.