Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 36,635 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 392,343 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 36,635 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $7,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 14.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $62,824,000 after purchasing an additional 358,829 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 139.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,655 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 16,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at $14,766,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Capital One Financial set a $22.50 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.25.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.6%

ARCC opened at $20.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.44 and its 200 day moving average is $21.09. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.48 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 45.16%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.00%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Capital

In related news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.39 per share, for a total transaction of $265,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 28,000 shares in the company, valued at $570,920. The trade was a 86.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.