Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 91,936 Shares of New Mountain Finance Corporation $NMFC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in New Mountain Finance Corporation by 49.4%, selling 91,936 shares and now owning 94,330 shares valued at approximately $1,040,000.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 32.08% of New Mountain Finance's stock, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes significantly in recent months.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.28, with a dividend yield of 13.0% for investors of record.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lowered its position in New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC - Free Report) by 49.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,330 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,936 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of New Mountain Finance worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 14.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,764,111 shares of the company's stock worth $30,488,000 after purchasing an additional 346,508 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 10.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,091,476 shares of the company's stock worth $12,039,000 after purchasing an additional 105,559 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 36.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 711,050 shares of the company's stock worth $7,843,000 after purchasing an additional 191,518 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 2.1% in the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 438,682 shares of the company's stock worth $4,839,000 after purchasing an additional 8,876 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in New Mountain Finance in the first quarter worth $4,674,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NMFC. Oppenheimer set a $11.00 price target on shares of New Mountain Finance and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $11.75) on shares of New Mountain Finance in a report on Monday, September 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.60.

New Mountain Finance Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NMFC traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,195,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 576,423. New Mountain Finance Corporation has a 12 month low of $8.84 and a 12 month high of $12.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.45.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. New Mountain Finance had a net margin of 23.27% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of $83.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that New Mountain Finance Corporation will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.9%. New Mountain Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently 168.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Mountain Finance

In other news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 106,691 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $1,043,437.98. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,370,857 shares in the company, valued at $42,746,981.46. The trade was a 2.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adam B. Weinstein bought 49,750 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.03 per share, with a total value of $498,992.50. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 652,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,544,474.70. This represents a 8.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 157,191 shares of company stock valued at $1,550,035. Company insiders own 11.71% of the company's stock.

New Mountain Finance 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.