Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 1,288 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,681 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,656,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $272,107,000 after acquiring an additional 975,045 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 1.7% during the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $80,338,000 after purchasing an additional 63,999 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 2,104.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $756,620,000 after buying an additional 3,449,395 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,492,247 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $72,778,000 after buying an additional 273,025 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,217,277 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $46,430,000 after buying an additional 79,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $22.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.02 and its 200-day moving average is $20.97.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.86.

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.