Virtus Fund Advisers LLC Takes $38,000 Position in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI)

Virtus Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 3,211 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEI. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Methode Electronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Methode Electronics by 196.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,509 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares during the period. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Methode Electronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Methode Electronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Methode Electronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MEI shares. Sidoti raised Methode Electronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Methode Electronics from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Lars Ullrich acquired 15,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.69 per share, with a total value of $101,353.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $101,353.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jonathan B. Degaynor bought 32,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.46 per share, for a total transaction of $211,455.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,455.18. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Methode Electronics Stock Up 0.9%

Methode Electronics stock opened at $7.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.07 million, a P/E ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.40. Methode Electronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.08 and a twelve month high of $17.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The electronics maker reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $239.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.01 million. Methode Electronics had a negative return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Methode Electronics, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Methode Electronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.37%. Methode Electronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -21.46%.

About Methode Electronics

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.