Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. Purchases Shares of 303,100 Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 303,100 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,635,000. Ares Capital comprises about 1.4% of Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Ares Capital by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $309,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $80,338,000 after buying an additional 63,999 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,387,097 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $70,926,000 after buying an additional 104,710 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,314,269 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $50,659,000 after buying an additional 96,992 shares during the period. Finally, CCLA Investment Management boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $48,419,000 after acquiring an additional 531,305 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $23.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $15.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.24%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital 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.