The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 994 Shares of MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in MFA Financial, Inc. (NYSE:MFA) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 994 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in MFA Financial were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $189,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MFA Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $329,000. Institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MFA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of MFA Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MFA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MFA Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

MFA Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MFA opened at $10.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 2.11. MFA Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.20 and a twelve month high of $13.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $11.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.57.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.05%.

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.