Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 146,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,914,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 1.35% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter worth about $2,289,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,578 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,017 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage during the fourth quarter worth about $1,724,000. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Aparna Ramesh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total value of $201,860.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,865,590.12. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.21, for a total transaction of $513,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,644 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Up 2.2 %

Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock opened at $195.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $169.17 and a fifty-two week high of $217.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.02.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.46. The business 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of 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 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.