Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 41,634 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.27% of Hercules Capital worth $8,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HTGC. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 10.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,115,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,873,000 after buying an additional 290,579 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,815,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,558,000 after buying an additional 77,869 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 493,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,921,000 after buying an additional 60,776 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 9.9% in the third quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 408,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,020,000 after buying an additional 36,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1,861.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 407,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $79,960,000 after buying an additional 386,367 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company's stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

NYSE HTGC traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,933,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.95 and a 1-year high of $21.78. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.24 and a 200-day moving average of $19.59.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 65.07% and a return on equity of 17.88%. The business had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.09 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.84%. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is currently 79.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hercules Capital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday.

About Hercules Capital

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.