Cerity Partners LLC Sells 32,957 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 371,874 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 32,957 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Ares Capital worth $7,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% in the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. JBR Co Financial Management Inc increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.2% during the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 43,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.9% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,428 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $22.01 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $22.15.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. B. Riley upped their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

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.