JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 6,832 Shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 127.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,180 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 6,832 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.15% of Middlefield Banc worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Middlefield Banc during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 6,918 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Middlefield Banc by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $476,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

Middlefield Banc Stock Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:MBCN opened at $27.87 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.81. The company has a market cap of $224.94 million, a PE ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.71. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $34.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Middlefield Banc had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 6.86%. Analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MBCN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Middlefield Banc Profile

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.