Raymond James & Associates Boosts Stock Holdings in SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC)

Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 112,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,647 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in SLR Investment were worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SLRC. Ares Management LLC raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 1,895,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,362,000 after acquiring an additional 306,084 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 471,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,000 after acquiring an additional 195,228 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 326,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,781,000 after acquiring an additional 96,666 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 133.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 84,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 48,259 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 768,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,827,000 after acquiring an additional 46,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Trading Up 0.7 %

SLR Investment stock opened at $14.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $813.49 million, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.11. SLR Investment Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $13.48 and a fifty-two week high of $15.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $59.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.00 million. SLR Investment had a net margin of 33.31% and a return on equity of 9.36%. Equities research analysts forecast that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.00%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $603,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,642,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,923,229.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $603,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,642,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,923,229.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael S. Gross bought 46,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.44 per share, with a total value of $721,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,735,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,676,490.56. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 109,336 shares of company stock worth $1,680,539. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SLRC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.25.

SLR Investment Company Profile

SLR Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in secured debt (first lien unitranche and second lien), subordinated (unsecured) debt, minority equity, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, general refinancing, growth capital and strategic income-oriented control equity investments in leveraged middle market companies.