DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $6.22 Million Position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 280,776 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 15,191 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $6,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 320.7% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 121.1% during the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $22.38. 2,213,408 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,206,623. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.93. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.67.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 43.50% and a return on equity of 11.05%. The company had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is presently 93.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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.