Mallini Complete Financial Planning LLC Invests $790,000 in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Mallini Complete Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,072 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,000. Ares Capital makes up about 0.7% of Mallini Complete Financial Planning LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted 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 valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $21.28 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.89.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.02%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the company 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.