Monument Capital Management Sells 1,156 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Monument Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 411.0% in the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,952 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 137.2% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,142 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.66 on Tuesday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $17.53 and a 1 year high of $20.86. The company has a market cap of $12.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.32 and its 200 day moving average is $19.98.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The investment management company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 58.22%. The company had revenue of $707.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Ares Capital’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.29%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 71.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Ares Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.80.

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.