Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $684,000 Stock Holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,004 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.8% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,773,835.24. This trade represents a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert G. Sexton acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $195.62 per share, for a total transaction of $195,620.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 13,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,195.54. This trade represents a 7.99 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGM opened at $191.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a 1-year low of $169.17 and a 1-year high of $217.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $197.67 and its 200-day moving average is $195.94.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.17 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $101.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $4.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a positive change from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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