JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $127.14 Million Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,229,396 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 175,480 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $127,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,891 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 69,844 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 265.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 74,725 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 54,267 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $2,810,000. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 19.5% in the third quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,640,113 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $33,475,000 after buying an additional 267,062 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.63.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The company had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ares Capital

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.