M&T Bank Corp Trims Stock Position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation $AGM

M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE:AGM) by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,965 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AGM. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the third quarter valued at $46,324,000. Man Group plc lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1,262.0% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 47,508 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,980,000 after acquiring an additional 44,020 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 11.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 420,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,665,000 after acquiring an additional 43,160 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 309.3% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 37,601 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,316,000 after buying an additional 28,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 18.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 182,745 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,697,000 after buying an additional 28,228 shares during the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock opened at $174.93 on Monday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation has a 52-week low of $136.57 and a 52-week high of $210.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.02.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The credit services provider reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by ($0.84). Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.73%.The firm had revenue of $101.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation will post 19.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AGM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.00.

About Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: AGM), commonly known as Farmer Mac, is a government-sponsored enterprise chartered in 1988 under the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Farmer Mac was established to enhance the availability of mortgage credit for the agricultural and rural utility sectors. The corporation operates as a secondary market for agricultural real estate and rural infrastructure loans, providing lenders with liquidity and risk management solutions.

The company’s principal business activities include purchasing and securitizing long-term fixed-rate agricultural mortgage loans and rural utilities loans originated by approved lenders.