IHT Wealth Management LLC Buys 4,085 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 147,120 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 4,085 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $19.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.95. The stock has a market cap of $13.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.77. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $18.26 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 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 forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.61.

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.