12,941 Shares in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Bought by FineMark National Bank & Trust

FineMark National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 12,941 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 5,403 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.6% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 15,098 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 25.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 222,101 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 44,548 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at $327,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Ares Capital by 331.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 178,224 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,732,000 after purchasing an additional 136,927 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock opened at $22.23 on Thursday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.84 and its 200-day moving average is $21.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ARCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.