HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 725,622 Shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,651,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 725,622 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in New Mountain Finance were worth $29,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 2.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,823,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,811,000 after acquiring an additional 100,315 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of New Mountain Finance by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,342,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,378,000 after purchasing an additional 93,329 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,081,000 after purchasing an additional 15,988 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in New Mountain Finance by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 429,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 398,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,772,000 after buying an additional 9,591 shares in the last quarter. 32.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at New Mountain Finance

In related news, Director David Ogens acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.44 per share, for a total transaction of $57,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 179,020 shares in the company, valued at $2,047,988.80. This represents a 2.87 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven B. Klinsky acquired 72,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.28 per share, with a total value of $815,318.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,285,505 shares in the company, valued at $48,340,496.40. The trade was a 1.72 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

New Mountain Finance Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NMFC opened at $11.16 on Friday. New Mountain Finance Co. has a twelve month low of $10.61 and a twelve month high of $12.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.61.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). New Mountain Finance had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 30.28%. The firm had revenue of $92.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.23 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.47%. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 123.08%.

About New Mountain Finance

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.