HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,376,702 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 237,594 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 3.13% of New Mountain Finance worth $40,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NMFC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in New Mountain Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP increased its position in New Mountain Finance by 68.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in New Mountain Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in New Mountain Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in New Mountain Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Institutional investors own 32.08% of the company's stock.
In related news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 150,609 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $1,637,119.83. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,632,326 shares in the company, valued at $39,483,383.62. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Kline bought 41,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.92 per share, for a total transaction of $453,726.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 351,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,841,470.36. This represents a 13.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 229,426 shares of company stock worth $2,520,341 over the last three months. 10.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on New Mountain Finance
Shares of NASDAQ NMFC opened at $11.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. New Mountain Finance Co. has a 52-week low of $10.61 and a 52-week high of $13.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 1.15.
New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 30.28%. The firm had revenue of $95.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from New Mountain Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.13%. New Mountain Finance's dividend payout ratio is 121.91%.
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.
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