Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 2,300 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,200 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ARCC opened at $22.11 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.99. The company has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.68%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.