Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 131,187 Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 131,187 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,872,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 0.9% during 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 buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA grew its position in 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 buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 1.6% in the 4th 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 holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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 decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.80%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

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.