Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 1,393 Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,393 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 180.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 364 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,004 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

Shares of AGM opened at $193.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $198.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.11. 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 12-month low of $169.17 and a 12-month high of $217.60.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.17 by $0.46. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 19.43%. The company had revenue of $101.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,773,835.24. The trade was a 22.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aparna Ramesh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.86, for a total transaction of $201,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 9,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,590.12. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

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.