Muzinich & Co. Inc. Purchases 63,214 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 961,831 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,214 shares during the period. Ares Capital makes up about 13.2% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $21,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $67,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC opened at $23.04 on Thursday. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.76.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.33%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.