Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Purchased by Bell Bank

Bell Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,498 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 16,446 shares during the period. Ares Capital makes up approximately 0.6% of Bell Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Bell Bank owned 0.07% of Ares Capital worth $11,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARCC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC traded up $0.19 on Thursday, reaching $21.51. The stock had a trading volume of 3,435,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,166,925. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business's 50-day moving average price is $21.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.93. The company has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.68.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 43.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.93%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

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.