New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Position in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,608 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 9,804 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.19% of Methode Electronics worth $1,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Methode Electronics by 0.9% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 37,354 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Methode Electronics by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,668 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 6,738 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Methode Electronics by 1.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 116,858 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Methode Electronics by 11.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 32,129 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Methode Electronics by 2.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,026,836 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $87,660,000 after purchasing an additional 46,480 shares in the last quarter. 95.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Methode Electronics Price Performance

MEI opened at $12.23 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.35. Methode Electronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.21 and a fifty-two week high of $46.58. The firm has a market cap of $432.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.46 and a beta of 0.86.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The electronics maker reported ($0.33) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.40). Methode Electronics had a positive return on equity of 0.07% and a negative net margin of 5.09%. The company had revenue of $259.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Methode Electronics, Inc. will post -0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Methode Electronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. Methode Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -34.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MEI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sidoti reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Methode Electronics in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Methode Electronics in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock.

Methode Electronics Profile

Methode Electronics, Inc designs, engineers, and produces mechatronic products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Automotive, Industrial, Interface, and Medical. The Automotive segment supplies electronic and electro-mechanical devices, and related products to automobile original equipment manufacturers directly or through their tiered suppliers.