Muzinich & Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Barings Bdc, Inc. $BBDC

Key Points

• Muzinich & Co. raised its stake 43.8% in Barings BDC during Q4, buying 212,847 shares to hold 698,945 shares (about 0.66% of BBDC, worth ~$6.42M), making it the firm's 18th largest position and 2.0% of its portfolio.
• Generous but potentially risky dividend: Barings BDC pays a $0.26 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.04) for a 12.5% yield, but the payout ratio is 107.22%, which may raise sustainability concerns.
• Mixed analyst sentiment and valuation: Weiss Ratings downgraded BBDC to a "hold (c+)," the MarketBeat consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $9.67 target, and the stock trades around $8.35 with a P/E of 8.6.

Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC - Free Report) by 43.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 698,945 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 212,847 shares during the quarter. Barings Bdc accounts for 2.0% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Muzinich & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Barings Bdc worth $6,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBDC. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barings Bdc by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,141,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,764,000 after buying an additional 570,637 shares during the period. TT Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barings Bdc in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,078,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Barings Bdc by 66.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 486,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,258,000 after buying an additional 194,725 shares during the period. Ares Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barings Bdc by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 3,797,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,706,000 after buying an additional 190,016 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Barings Bdc in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,279,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Barings Bdc from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $9.67.

Barings Bdc Stock Performance

NYSE BBDC opened at $8.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $873.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.58. Barings Bdc, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.66 and a twelve month high of $9.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.60 and a 200 day moving average of $8.82.

Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $65.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.66 million. Barings Bdc had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 36.50%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Barings Bdc, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings Bdc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.5%. Barings Bdc's dividend payout ratio is presently 107.22%.

Barings Bdc Company Profile

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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