Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 35,158 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 22.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 124,180 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 35,158 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ARCC. City Holding Co. increased its position in Ares Capital by 444.4% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CNB Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter worth $36,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.39 per share, with a total value of $265,070.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 28,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,920. This represents a 86.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Capital One Financial set a $22.50 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.25.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $20.18 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.58. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 45.16%.The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.48 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.