HighTower Advisors LLC Has $2.42 Million Position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage were worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,949,000. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased 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 worth $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,611 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 worth $20,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,444 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased 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 worth $3,405,000 after acquiring an additional 11,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 worth $59,911,000 after acquiring an additional 29,917 shares during the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

AGM opened at $191.19 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. 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 results on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $101.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. Research analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In related news, Director Robert G. Sexton bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $195.62 per share, for a total transaction of $195,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,517 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,195.54. The trade was a 7.99 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.21, for a total value of $513,025.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,773,835.24. The trade was a 22.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.