Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by WealthPLAN Partners LLC

WealthPLAN Partners LLC cut its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,260 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,543 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after acquiring an additional 25,347 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 24.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,900,000 after acquiring an additional 127,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $18,540,000 after acquiring an additional 38,559 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $23.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.25%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

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.