Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Anfield Capital Management LLC

Anfield Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 113,207 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 49,711 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital accounts for approximately 1.2% of Anfield Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Anfield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 411.0% during the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,952 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Ares Capital by 137.2% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,142 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARCC. B. Riley downgraded Ares Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.80.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $17.53 and a 52 week high of $20.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The investment management company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 58.22%. The company had revenue of $707.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.78 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.91%.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.