Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) Cut to “Hold” at B.Riley Securit

B.Riley Securit downgraded shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

SPMC has been the subject of a number of other reports. iA Financial set a $18.50 price target on Sound Point Meridian Capital in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Oppenheimer set a $20.00 target price on shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Sound Point Meridian Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Compass Point set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sound Point Meridian Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.42.

Sound Point Meridian Capital Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital stock opened at $11.03 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.86. The company has a market cap of $226.05 million, a P/E ratio of -3.12 and a beta of 0.32. Sound Point Meridian Capital has a 12-month low of $10.91 and a 12-month high of $22.30.

Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $17.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.45 million.

Sound Point Meridian Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 21.8%. Sound Point Meridian Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,500.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sound Point Meridian Capital

In related news, Director Matthew E. Forstenhausler purchased 4,118 shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.60 per share, for a total transaction of $56,004.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,924.80. This trade represents a 187.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured sold 4,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.31, for a total value of $65,282.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,269,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,409,263.90. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 8,480 shares of company stock worth $115,727 and have sold 10,803 shares worth $156,663. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sound Point Meridian Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPMC. Kim LLC purchased a new position in Sound Point Meridian Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $192,821,000. Everest Management Corp. purchased a new position in Sound Point Meridian Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,303,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital by 35.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 77,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 20,163 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sound Point Meridian Capital in the fourth quarter worth $189,000.

About Sound Point Meridian Capital

Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to generate high current income, with a secondary objective to generate capital appreciation, by investing primarily in third-party collateralized loan obligation equity and mezzanine tranches. Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc is based in NEW YORK.