Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 511.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,386 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $1,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Hercules Capital by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,115,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,873,000 after purchasing an additional 290,579 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,737,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,761,000 after acquiring an additional 47,672 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 433,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,505,000 after acquiring an additional 62,826 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 408,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,020,000 after acquiring an additional 36,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 1,861.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 407,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 386,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HTGC. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $1,959,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,161,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,338,045.13. The trade was a 4.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Hercules Capital stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.39. 1,211,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 945,327. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.32 and a twelve month high of $21.78. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $19.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 1.36.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 65.07%. The company had revenue of $125.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.90%. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.21%.

Hercules Capital Profile

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.