Callodine Capital Management LP Sells 50,000 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Callodine Capital Management LP cut its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $20.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.41%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ARCC. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.61.

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.