iA Global Asset Management Inc. Invests $9.05 Million in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. has acquired 408,569 shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC), valued at approximately $9,054,000, representing 0.06% ownership of the company.
• Several hedge funds, including Allspring Global Investments and Bessemer Group Inc., have recently increased their stakes in Ares Capital, indicating growing institutional interest.
• Ares Capital plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share on September 30th, reflecting an annualized yield of 8.5% and a payout ratio of 93.66%.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 408,569 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $9,054,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Ares Capital at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 320.7% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 193.9% during the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,828 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% in the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 281.3% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted 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. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.86.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 358,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,550,306. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.04. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $748.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.6%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

Ares Capital Company 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.