Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by MRP Capital Investments LLC

MRP Capital Investments LLC lessened its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,330 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $86,227,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 20.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,681,109 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $243,434,000 after buying an additional 1,961,166 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 4,876.0% during the first quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 574,978 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $11,971,000 after buying an additional 563,423 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 2,057.7% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 526,258 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $10,541,000 after buying an additional 501,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 143.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 820,390 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $17,081,000 after acquiring an additional 484,088 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ARCC. UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Compass Point raised shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.71.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC opened at $20.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.77 and its 200-day moving average is $20.77. The stock has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $18.55 and a twelve month high of $21.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

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.