Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Fidus Investment Co. (NASDAQ:FDUS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fidus Investment Co. (NASDAQ:FDUS) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,008 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,302 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Fidus Investment were worth $1,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 11.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 809,411 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,808,000 after buying an additional 83,538 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,467 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 18,582 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 2,742 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Fidus Investment in the 3rd quarter worth $683,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Fidus Investment by 24.6% during the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 17,325 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares during the period. 28.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fidus Investment Price Performance

NASDAQ FDUS opened at $20.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.73. The company has a market cap of $705.54 million, a PE ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 1.40. Fidus Investment Co. has a 1-year low of $18.41 and a 1-year high of $20.84.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $38.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 million. Fidus Investment had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 60.09%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fidus Investment Co. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidus Investment Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.73%. This is a positive change from Fidus Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Fidus Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Fidus Investment to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Fidus Investment Profile

Fidus Investment Corporation is a business development company. It specializing in leveraged buyouts, refinancings, change of ownership transactions, recapitalizations, strategic acquisitions, mezzanine, growth capital, business expansion, lower middle market investments, debt investments, subordinated and second lien loans, senior secured and unitranche debt, preferred equity, warrants, subordinated debt, senior subordinated notes, junior secured loans, and unitranche loans.