Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in New Mountain Finance Corporation $NMFC

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 690,497 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 84,233 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.67% of New Mountain Finance worth $6,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NMFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,382,000 after acquiring an additional 363,443 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 849,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,823,000 after purchasing an additional 178,381 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in New Mountain Finance by 17.1% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 480,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 70,277 shares during the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC increased its position in New Mountain Finance by 36.4% during the third quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 316,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,053,000 after purchasing an additional 84,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in New Mountain Finance by 4.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,589,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,966,000 after purchasing an additional 115,004 shares during the period. 32.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Mountain Finance

In other news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 276,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.05 per share, with a total value of $2,223,748.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,370,858 shares in the company, valued at $43,235,406.90. This trade represents a 5.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adam B. Weinstein purchased 12,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.61 per share, for a total transaction of $98,169.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 751,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,720,863.16. This represents a 1.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 1,200,673 shares of company stock valued at $9,662,634 over the last quarter. 14.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NMFC shares. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of New Mountain Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.25.

New Mountain Finance Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ NMFC opened at $8.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $837.34 million, a P/E ratio of 56.67 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.84. New Mountain Finance Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.47 and a 12 month high of $11.04.

New Mountain Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 853.33%.

About New Mountain Finance

New Mountain Finance Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that provides customized debt and equity capital solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, New Mountain Finance invests in sponsor-backed and founder-led businesses that span a range of industry sectors, with a focus on companies demonstrating resilient growth and recurring revenue streams.

The company’s investment portfolio typically includes first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien and junior debt instruments, mezzanine financing and equity co-investments.