Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,159 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 2,452 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Ares Capital by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,282,079 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $165,890,000 after purchasing an additional 840,823 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1,865.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,214,991 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $844,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000,570 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 0.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,043,209 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $59,251,000 after buying an additional 23,276 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,954,786 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $39,154,000 after buying an additional 66,878 shares during the period. Finally, Bruni J V & Co. Co. raised its position in Ares Capital by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 1,398,203 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,006,000 after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.43.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $20.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $18.00 and a 1 year high of $21.04.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.24%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.75%.

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.