J.Safra Asset Management Corp Has $174,000 Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 79.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,932 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 3,513 shares during the quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $22.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.84. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital 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.