Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 93,800 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 438,807 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 93,800 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.06% of Ares Capital worth $8,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $77,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,167,906 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ares Capital by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $140,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,460 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 56.9% in the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,342,324 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $51,437,000 after purchasing an additional 849,097 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $14,766,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $18.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.39. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.17 and a 1-year high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Ares Capital’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation 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 Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.23%.

About Ares Capital

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.