Muzinich & Co. Inc. Acquires 60,375 Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 510,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 60,375 shares during the period. Hercules Capital comprises approximately 5.6% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Muzinich & Co. Inc. owned about 0.29% of Hercules Capital worth $9,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Estabrook Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 239.0% during the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $80,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:HTGC traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $19.20. The company had a trading volume of 435,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.65 and a 1-year high of $22.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.89.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 45.23%. The firm had revenue of $102.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In other news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos purchased 5,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.49 per share, with a total value of $104,922.51. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 11,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,180.40. This trade represents a 100.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HTGC. UBS Group raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.08.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company. The firm specializing in providing venture debt, debt, senior secured loans, and growth capital to privately held venture capital-backed companies at all stages of development from startups to expansion stage including select publicly listed companies and select special opportunity lower middle market companies that require additional capital to fund acquisitions, recapitalizations and refinancing and established-stage companies.