The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 3,900 Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.16% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $3,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1,589.4% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 356,001 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,114,000 after purchasing an additional 334,928 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,914,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 220,261 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,380,000 after acquiring an additional 21,670 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $81,813,000 after purchasing an additional 15,140 shares during the period. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In related news, Director Robert G. Sexton acquired 1,000 shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 13,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,195.54. This represents a 7.99 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,644 shares in the company, valued at $1,773,835.24. This trade represents a 22.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.21% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Up 4.8 %

AGM stock opened at $185.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $182.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.97. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $159.64 and a fifty-two week high of $217.60.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The credit services provider reported $4.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.19. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.43% and a net margin of 12.75%. The business had revenue of $96.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.33 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. 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.