Cerity Partners LLC Trims Holdings in New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,686,210 shares of the company's stock after selling 137,715 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 3.42% of New Mountain Finance worth $41,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 139.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 137,773 shares of the company's stock worth $1,551,000 after buying an additional 80,309 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth $305,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of New Mountain Finance by 107.9% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 26,291 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 139.2% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 166,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 96,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 362,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,085,000 after purchasing an additional 138,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of New Mountain Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

New Mountain Finance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NMFC traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 920,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 457,554. The firm has a market cap of $996.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 0.84. New Mountain Finance Co. has a 12 month low of $8.84 and a 12 month high of $12.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.11 and a 200-day moving average of $11.35.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $92.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.23 million. New Mountain Finance had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 30.28%. Research analysts expect that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other New Mountain Finance news, Director David Ogens acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.44 per share, with a total value of $57,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 179,020 shares in the company, valued at $2,047,988.80. This trade represents a 2.87 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.34% of the company's stock.

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.