Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 74,000 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lessened its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 51.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 74,000 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.65.

Ares Capital Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $18.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.73 and a 200-day moving average of $19.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The company had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.5%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 117.79%.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.