Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,907 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital by 10.6% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,405 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 4,749 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Ares Capital by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 5,832 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,083,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 177,553 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,030 shares during the period. Finally, Scientech Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 128.2% in the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 28,381 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 15,942 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $23.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.37.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ARCC. B. Riley upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.29.

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.