Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires 30,060 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,536 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,060 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Family Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 50.6% in the third quarter. Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,540 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 8,245 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 88,094 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 41,394 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,304 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 3,572 shares during the period. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $275,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $18.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.17 and a 52 week high of $23.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.89 and a 200-day moving average of $20.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 103.23%.

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.