10,490 Shares in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Bought by Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC

Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,490 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Palogic Value Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 104,565 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after acquiring an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Condor Capital Management grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 200,634 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Ares Capital by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 437,215 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $9,575,000 after acquiring an additional 71,408 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.1 %

Ares Capital stock opened at $21.76 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The stock has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.85 and a 200 day moving average of $21.92.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.82%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARCC. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.