Fulton Bank N.A. Sells 2,039 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Fulton Bank N.A. trimmed its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,532 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital by 562.5% during the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.79 and its 200-day moving average is $21.22. 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 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $22.43. The company has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 1.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Ares Capital 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.