JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 18.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,006,460 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.91% of Ares Capital worth $140,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the first quarter worth about $30,000. CNB Bank bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.25.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on ARCC

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.51 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average price is $20.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.48. The company has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.68. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $658.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $766.48 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 45.16% and a return on equity of 10.08%. Ares Capital's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 96.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.39 per share, with a total value of $265,070.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 28,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,920. This trade represents a 86.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.

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