Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 28,957 Shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 340,158 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,957 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in New Mountain Finance were worth $4,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Trust Co grew its stake in New Mountain Finance by 101.1% during the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 160,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after buying an additional 80,451 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in New Mountain Finance by 0.7% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 325,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,898,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in New Mountain Finance by 1.1% during the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 428,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,131,000 after buying an additional 4,756 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in New Mountain Finance by 8.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,249,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,980,000 after buying an additional 168,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance during the third quarter worth approximately $169,000. 32.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Mountain Finance Price Performance

Shares of NMFC stock opened at $11.50 on Tuesday. New Mountain Finance Co. has a 1 year low of $10.61 and a 1 year high of $13.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.66 and its 200-day moving average is $12.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). New Mountain Finance had a net margin of 30.28% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $95.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from New Mountain Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of New Mountain Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Insider Activity at New Mountain Finance

In other news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 150,609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.87 per share, for a total transaction of $1,637,119.83. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,632,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,483,383.62. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Kline bought 41,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.92 per share, for a total transaction of $453,726.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 351,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,841,470.36. This trade represents a 13.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

New Mountain Finance Company Profile

New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC), a business development company is a private equity / buyouts and loan fund specializes in directly investing and lending to middle market companies in defensive growth industries. The fund prefers investing in buyout and middle market companies. It also makes investments in debt securities at all levels of the capital structure including first and second lien debt, unsecured notes, and mezzanine securities.