Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Sold by Welch Financial Planning LLC

Welch Financial Planning LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 81.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 90,105 shares during the period. Welch Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 23,881 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 37,539 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. VPR Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. VPR Management LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 192,802 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,573,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.97. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $21.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 0.60.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The investment management company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $776.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 157.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group raised Ares Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.39.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to U.S. middle-market companies, including businesses backed by private equity firms. It is externally managed by Ares Capital Management, an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation. The company invests primarily in debt, including first-lien and second-lien loans and subordinated debt, and may also make equity investments. Its financing supports a range of business needs, such as acquisitions, growth, and refinancing.