HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 904 Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 904 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,949,000. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 14,036 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,494 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,444 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 29,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.21, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert G. Sexton purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $195.62 per share, for a total transaction of $195,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE AGM opened at $191.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $197.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.98. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $169.17 and a 52 week high of $217.60.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $101.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.81 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.43% and a net margin of 12.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

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.