Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $7.41 Million Stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,289 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage were worth $7,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1,589.4% in the fourth 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. bought a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,914,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $59,911,000 after buying an additional 29,917 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 415,716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $81,813,000 after acquiring an additional 15,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Down 0.6 %

AGM stock opened at $166.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $192.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.38. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $159.64 and a fifty-two week high of $217.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.01.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.17 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $101.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.81 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. Analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Activity

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, Director Robert G. Sexton acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired 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 $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 is available through this link. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of 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.