Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,918 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of Middlefield Banc worth $487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Middlefield Banc in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 104.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Middlefield Banc Stock Down 0.7 %

Middlefield Banc stock opened at $27.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.70 million, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.34. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a one year low of $20.61 and a one year high of $34.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.18). Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The business had revenue of $16.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.10 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

About Middlefield Banc

Middlefield Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Middlefield Banking Company that provides various commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, small business owners, and retail customers in northeastern and central Ohio. It offers checking, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, time certificates of deposit, commercial loans, real estate loans, various consumer loans, safe deposit facilities, and travelers' checks.