Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Sells 33,875 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA - Free Report) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,062 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 33,875 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. owned approximately 0.07% of MFA Financial worth $755,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in MFA Financial by 902.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 374,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,764,000 after buying an additional 337,142 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of MFA Financial by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,681 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 9,836 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 7,220 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MFA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $428,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its holdings in MFA Financial by 639.9% during the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,888 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. 65.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MFA Financial Stock Down 0.3%

MFA stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $9.34. The company had a trading volume of 853,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,034,694. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.26. MFA Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $13.45. The stock has a market cap of $958.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.69.

MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $57.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.80 million. MFA Financial had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 9.61%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that MFA Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

MFA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.43%. This is a positive change from MFA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. MFA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MFA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered MFA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their target price on MFA Financial from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.50.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage securities, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets.