BlackRock Inc. Takes Position in Barings Bdc, Inc. $BBDC

Key Points

• BlackRock purchased 509,220 shares of Barings BDC in the second quarter, valued at approximately $4.34 million, giving it a 0.49% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 44.09% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with one Buy rating and four Holds; the average price target is $9.75. Wells Fargo raised its target to $10.00, while Zacks downgraded the stock to Hold.
• Barings BDC reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, beating estimates by $0.03, and declared a $0.26 quarterly dividend. The dividend implies an annualized payout of $1.04 and an 11.5% yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 509,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,339,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 0.49% of Barings Bdc as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Barings Bdc in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,207,000. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Barings Bdc by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,765,629 shares of the company's stock worth $34,568,000 after purchasing an additional 481,172 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Barings Bdc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,767,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Barings Bdc by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,493,751 shares of the company's stock worth $13,713,000 after purchasing an additional 285,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bulldog Investors LLP raised its position in shares of Barings Bdc by 370.6% during the 4th quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 317,307 shares of the company's stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 249,885 shares during the last quarter. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BBDC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Barings Bdc from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Barings Bdc from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Barings Bdc from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barings Bdc currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.75.

Barings Bdc Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Barings Bdc stock opened at $9.01 on Friday. Barings Bdc, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.96 and a fifty-two week high of $9.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $8.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $943.44 million, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.60.

Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. Barings Bdc had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 32.73%.The firm had revenue of $54.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Barings Bdc, Inc. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Barings Bdc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.5%. Barings Bdc's dividend payout ratio is 125.30%.

About Barings Bdc

Barings BDC Inc NYSE: BBDC is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible financing solutions to middle-market companies. As an investment vehicle organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, BBDC seeks to generate both current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien loans, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The company targets established businesses across a diverse range of industries, including healthcare, industrials, consumer products and business services.

The company is sponsored and managed by Barings LLC, a global investment manager and subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual).

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