Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1,613.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 229,554 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 216,154 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 32,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.3% in the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 44,755 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,186 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.0% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 57,092 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $18.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.48 and its 200-day moving average is $19.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 117.79%.

Ares Capital 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.