Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 183,720 Shares of Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC)

Two Sigma Investments LP cut its stake in shares of Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564,455 shares of the company's stock after selling 183,720 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.53% of Barings BDC worth $5,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Barings BDC by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,084,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,516,000 after buying an additional 83,408 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Barings BDC by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,347,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,470,000 after buying an additional 79,994 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barings BDC during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,542,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barings BDC during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,891,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Barings BDC by 85.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 705,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,753,000 after buying an additional 324,945 shares during the period. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Barings BDC from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Barings BDC from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $8.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Barings BDC from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

Barings BDC Price Performance

Shares of BBDC stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.31. The company had a trading volume of 481,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,603. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $8.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $981.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.73. Barings BDC, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.66 and a 52 week high of $10.85.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $64.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.78 million. Barings BDC had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 38.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Barings BDC, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.17%. Barings BDC's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Matthew Freund purchased 3,522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.07 per share, with a total value of $31,944.54. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 20,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $181,418.14. This represents a 21.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric J. Lloyd purchased 34,375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.12 per share, with a total value of $313,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,569 shares in the company, valued at $670,949.28. This trade represents a 87.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Barings BDC

Barings BDC, Inc is a publicly traded, externally managed investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. It seeks to invest primarily in senior secured loans, first lien debt, unitranche, second lien debt, subordinated debt, equity co-investments and senior secured private debt investments in private middle-market companies that operate across a wide range of industries.