Van ECK Associates Corp Has $35.03 Million Stock Holdings in Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its position in Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,127,617 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 811,246 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.86% of Prospect Capital worth $35,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MWA Asset Management bought a new position in Prospect Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Prospect Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Prospect Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Prospect Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSEC traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.42. 1,683,774 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,478,153. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Prospect Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $4.09 and a 12 month high of $5.86. The company's 50 day moving average price is $4.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of -16.98 and a beta of 0.99.

Prospect Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Prospect Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently -207.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John F. Barry purchased 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.78 per share, with a total value of $4,780,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 77,465,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,284,124.44. This trade represents a 1.31 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO M Grier Eliasek purchased 210,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.81 per share, with a total value of $1,010,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 2,131,130 shares in the company, valued at $10,250,735.30. The trade was a 10.93 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 4,225,000 shares of company stock valued at $19,030,550. Insiders own 27.10% of the company's stock.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in middle market, mature, mezzanine finance, later stage, emerging growth, leveraged buyouts, refinancing, acquisitions, recapitalizations, turnaround, growth capital, development, capital expenditures and subordinated debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, cash flow term loans, market place lending and bridge transactions.