Riverbridge Partners LLC Acquires 42,951 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Riverbridge Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 72.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,951 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $62,824,000 after purchasing an additional 358,829 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 139.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,655 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 16,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $14,766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.38.

Insider Transactions at Ares Capital

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Capital Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $17.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $23.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

Ares Capital 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.