Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) is Ballast Asset Management LP’s 4th Largest Position

Ballast Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,281 shares during the quarter. Federal Agricultural Mortgage accounts for 3.5% of Ballast Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Ballast Asset Management LP’s holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage were worth $6,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 14,036 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $20,145,000 after buying an additional 6,444 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter worth $2,289,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert G. Sexton acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $195.62 per share, for a total transaction of $195,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,195.54. This trade represents a 7.99 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,773,835.24. This trade represents a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AGM opened at $187.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.36. 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 earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. On average, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

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.