Rathbones Group PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 379,324 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 59,483 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.05% of Ares Capital worth $7,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 8.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,900,015 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $161,239,000 after purchasing an additional 836,826 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,794,378 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $83,353,000 after purchasing an additional 225,984 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 825.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $77,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 7.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,226,668 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $65,856,000 after purchasing an additional 225,028 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $18.30 on Tuesday. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $23.42. The firm has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.83 and a 200 day moving average of $19.79. 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 (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is owned by 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.