Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 58,666 Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC acquired 58,666 shares of Ares Capital Corporation in Q1, valued at approximately $1.3 million, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Ares Capital by 12.3%, while several other firms also reported boosting their positions during the recent quarters.
• Ares Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 8.5%, with a high payout ratio of 93.66%.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 58,666 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter valued at $248,000. True North Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Condor Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 221,332 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $4,905,000 after acquiring an additional 20,698 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 36,553 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 31,786 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $22.47. The stock had a trading volume of 5,412,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,538,100. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.33 and a 200 day moving average of $22.01. The stock has a market cap of $15.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $614.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $748.76 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 44.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. B. Riley upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $22.50 to $23.50 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.86.

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.