Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Purchased by Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 681,724 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,786 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital comprises 0.7% of Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Ares Capital worth $14,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 1.6% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.1% during the first quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. JBR Co Financial Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% in the third quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.58 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $18.59 and a 52 week high of $21.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.91. The company has a market cap of $13.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. JMP Securities raised their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.71.

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.