SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Sells 54,321 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 69.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 54,321 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 825.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $77,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167,906 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,943,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 56.9% in the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,342,324 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $51,437,000 after purchasing an additional 849,097 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,900,015 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $161,239,000 after purchasing an additional 836,826 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after buying an additional 705,882 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARCC. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $17.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $23.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.17 and a 200-day moving average of $19.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.