Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. $CGBD

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending, purchasing 18,967 shares valued at approximately $307,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Invesco Ltd., have also significantly increased their stakes in Carlyle Secured Lending over the past quarters.
• Carlyle Secured Lending recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, which will be paid on October 17th, representing an annualized yield of 11.8%.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,449.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 659,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,826,000 after purchasing an additional 616,988 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $3,223,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $2,340,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 859.5% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 88,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 79,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,192,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,383,000 after purchasing an additional 44,033 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.51% of the company's stock.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CGBD traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.73. 275,181 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 523,213. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $13.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $699.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.88. Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.12 and a fifty-two week high of $18.64.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39. The firm had revenue of $67.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.53 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 29.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Carlyle Secured Lending's payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Carlyle Secured Lending from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $14.50 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $15.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas M. Hennigan bought 7,285 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.75 per share, with a total value of $100,168.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,216,806.25. The trade was a 8.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John G. Nestor sold 13,238 shares of Carlyle Secured Lending stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total value of $178,580.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,859.57. This represents a 47.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc is business development company specializing in first lien debt, senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loan unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. It targets healthcare and pharmaceutical, aerospace and defense, high tech industries, business services, software, beverage food and tobacco, hotel gamming and leisure, banking finance insurance and in real estate sector.