Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 215,809 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 62.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,933 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 215,809 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $226,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,301,890 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,943,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $14,766,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Ares Capital by 182.2% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 893,834 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $18,243,000 after purchasing an additional 577,042 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.75.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $18.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $23.42. The firm has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.79%.

About Ares Capital

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.