Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC Invests $758,000 in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 37,480 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $758,000. Ares Capital comprises 0.4% of Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Partners Group Holding AG lifted its position in Ares Capital by 4.8% in the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 1,767,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,068,000 after purchasing an additional 80,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 33.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,891 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after buying an additional 69,844 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $1,314,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth $1,430,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,616,789 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $54,691,000 after buying an additional 138,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.09 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.66. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.23%.

Ares Capital 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.