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

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 340,158 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,957 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.32% of New Mountain Finance worth $4,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First National Trust Co raised its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 101.1% in the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 160,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after acquiring an additional 80,451 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 325,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 428,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,756 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,249,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,980,000 after acquiring an additional 168,719 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in New Mountain Finance in the 3rd quarter worth $169,000. Institutional investors own 32.08% of the company’s stock.

New Mountain Finance Stock Performance

NASDAQ NMFC opened at $11.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. 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’s fifty day moving average is $11.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.12. New Mountain Finance Co. has a 52-week low of $10.61 and a 52-week high of $13.23.

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

New Mountain Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. 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 dividend yield of 11.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. New Mountain Finance’s payout ratio is 121.90%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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.

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.