Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,620 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,289,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.11% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 319,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $59,911,000 after acquiring an additional 29,917 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,949,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 226,983 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,539,000 after acquiring an additional 20,603 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 181.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,172 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,405,000 after buying an additional 11,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,226,000. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In related news, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.21, for a total value of $513,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,773,835.24. This represents a 22.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert G. Sexton acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $195.62 per share, with a total value of $195,620.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,195.54. This represents a 7.99 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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 Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock opened at $192.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.02. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a 1-year low of $169.17 and a 1-year high of $217.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick 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 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 firm had revenue of $101.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio is 36.47%.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage 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.