Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Acquires 29,649 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 228,531 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,649 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,900,015 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $161,239,000 after purchasing an additional 836,826 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 6.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,794,378 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $83,353,000 after buying an additional 225,984 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 825.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $77,996,000 after buying an additional 3,167,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 7.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,226,668 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $65,856,000 after buying an additional 225,028 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% 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 corporate insiders.

Ares Capital Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $17.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.96. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.0%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 103.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

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.