Baillie Gifford & Co. Acquires 247,245 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 72.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 589,640 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 247,245 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.09% of Ares Capital worth $12,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $23.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.62.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 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 issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARCC. B. Riley upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.