Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 708,916 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,192 shares during the period. Ares Capital makes up approximately 0.9% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $15,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $67,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ARCC opened at $23.30 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $22.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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 8.24%. Ares Capital’s 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.