LPL Financial LLC Raises Position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $1,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AGM. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 4th quarter worth $100,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,004 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.21, for a total transaction of $513,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,773,835.24. This trade represents a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert G. Sexton acquired 1,000 shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $195.62 per share, for a total transaction of $195,620.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,195.54. The trade was a 7.99 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

Shares of AGM stock opened at $170.88 on Thursday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a 52-week low of $159.64 and a 52-week high of $217.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $190.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.17 by $0.46. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.43% and a net margin of 12.75%. The company had revenue of $101.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Company Profile

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation provides a secondary market for various loans made to borrowers in the United States. It operates through four segments: Corporate AgFinance, Farm & Ranch, Rural Utilities, and Renewable Energy. The company’s Agricultural Finance line of business engages in purchasing and retaining eligible loans and securities; guaranteeing the payment of principal and interest on securities that represent interests in or obligations secured by pools of eligible loans; servicing eligible loans; and issuing LTSPCs for eligible loans.