Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,669 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,989 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,681,109 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $243,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,166 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2,104.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $756,620,000 after buying an additional 3,449,395 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 8.5% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,492,247 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $72,778,000 after buying an additional 273,025 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 7.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,099,134 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $64,524,000 after buying an additional 223,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,217,277 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $46,430,000 after acquiring an additional 79,074 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.94. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $18.86 and a 1-year high of $22.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ARCC. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. 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, UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

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.