Access Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 57,675 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $161,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 451.9% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,434 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,993 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 72,159 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 17,665 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2,224.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 291,333 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,835,000 after purchasing an additional 278,797 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.10. 3,383,341 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,829,478. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.99. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $21.14.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 62.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.43.

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.