PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 432,259 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 39,514 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.66% of PennantPark Investment worth $3,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterneck Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PennantPark Investment by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC now owns 67,932 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 20,770 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in PennantPark Investment by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 130,907 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 14,124 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PennantPark Investment by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,991 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PennantPark Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $443,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its stake in shares of PennantPark Investment by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 31,789 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 11,721 shares in the last quarter. 26.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PennantPark Investment Price Performance

PNNT traded down $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $6.47. 72,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 483,741. The stock has a market cap of $422.14 million, a PE ratio of 24.87 and a beta of 1.09. PennantPark Investment Co. has a twelve month low of $5.72 and a twelve month high of $8.04. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $6.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

PennantPark Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.85%. PennantPark Investment's payout ratio is 369.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PennantPark Investment from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.00.

PennantPark Investment Company Profile

PennantPark Investment Corporation, a business development company is a private equity fund specializes in direct and mezzanine investments in middle market companies. It invests in the form of mezzanine debt, senior secured loans, and equity investments. The fund typically invests in buildings and real estate, hotels, gaming and leisure, technology, telecommunications, transportation, information technology services, electronics, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, education and childcare, financial services, printing and publishing, consumer products, business services, energy & Related Services and utilities, distribution, oil and gas, media, environmental services, aerospace and defense, building materials, capital equipment, chemicals, plastics, & rubber, food & beverage, wholesale, manufacturing and basic industries and retail.