Ostrum Asset Management Reduces Holdings in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

Ostrum Asset Management lessened its position in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,351,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 22,980 shares during the quarter. AGNC Investment comprises approximately 1.1% of Ostrum Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Ostrum Asset Management owned about 0.15% of AGNC Investment worth $12,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AGNC Investment during the 3rd quarter worth about $130,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 4.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,552,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,242,000 after acquiring an additional 71,330 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 3.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 96,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 3,075 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of AGNC Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $142,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AGNC Investment by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 584,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,060,000 after purchasing an additional 154,029 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $8.34 on Friday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $10.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.72. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.05). AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 29.26%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a apr 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 17.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. AGNC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.45%.

Insider Activity at AGNC Investment

In other news, Director Frances Spark sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.10, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 75,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,781.90. This represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bernice Bell sold 13,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.04, for a total transaction of $130,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 372,226 shares in the company, valued at $3,737,149.04. The trade was a 3.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.75 to $10.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $9.50 to $8.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of AGNC Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.36.

AGNC Investment Profile

AGNC Investment Corp., formerly American Capital Agency Corp., is a real estate investment trust. The Company invests in agency residential mortgage-backed securities on a leveraged basis. Its investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), or by the United States Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, GSEs).