US Bancorp DE Boosts Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,056 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,455 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.88. The company has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

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.