Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 78,404 Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. $CGBD

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 518,842 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 78,404 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending were worth $6,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGBD. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,011.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 553.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 7,946 shares during the period. 24.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Carlyle Secured Lending Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CGBD opened at $10.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.50 and a 1-year high of $14.49. The company has a market capitalization of $739.48 million, a P/E ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.80.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $64.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.78 million. Research analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.2%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is currently 225.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CGBD. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.50.

Carlyle Secured Lending Profile

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc (NASDAQ: CGBD) is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.