Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 24.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,219 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.10% of Ares Capital worth $13,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,318 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 12.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 861,594 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $17,956,000 after buying an additional 94,665 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 625,218 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,030,000 after buying an additional 42,640 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 165,289 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,445,000 after acquiring an additional 15,084 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC opened at $21.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.13. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $22.43. The firm has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.29.

About Ares Capital

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.