FIL Ltd Buys 5,052 Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,873 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,052 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned approximately 0.27% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $5,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,816 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,933 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 63,206 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,448,000 after buying an additional 6,317 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 11,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,316,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter valued at about $242,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. 68.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, CFO Aparna Ramesh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $201,860.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,865,590.12. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.21, for a total value of $513,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,773,835.24. This represents a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

AGM stock opened at $166.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $192.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.38. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a one year low of $159.64 and a one year high of $217.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.46. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.43%. The business had revenue of $101.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

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.