Sigma Planning Corp Has $1.93 Million Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,096 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 78,593 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 1,865.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,214,991 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $844,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000,570 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,441,256 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $144,881,000 after acquiring an additional 708,568 shares during the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $13,992,000. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $11,952,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 484.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 699,265 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $13,615,000 after acquiring an additional 579,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.3 %

ARCC traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $20.66. 2,786,717 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,612,887. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.98. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $17.53 and a one year high of $20.86. The company has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The investment management company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a net margin of 58.22% and a return on equity of 12.50%. The firm had revenue of $707.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $669.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Ares Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.29%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. B. Riley lowered Ares Capital from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.80.

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.