Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Purchases 13,490 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 722,406 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,490 shares during the period. Ares Capital accounts for about 1.0% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Ares Capital worth $16,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 320.7% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% in the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 137.6% in the first quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,704 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. B. Riley upgraded Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $22.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.95. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The company has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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