Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 319,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,917 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 2.94% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $59,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 226,983 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,539,000 after purchasing an additional 20,603 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 182,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,215,000 after purchasing an additional 10,194 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 25.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 178,008 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,187,000 after buying an additional 36,380 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.6% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 172,129 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,259,000 after buying an additional 16,487 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 6.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,494 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,145,000 after buying an additional 6,444 shares in the last quarter. 68.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, CEO Bradford T. Nordholm sold 5,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.37, for a total transaction of $1,082,426.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,770,360.48. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.69, for a total transaction of $307,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,263,871.40. This represents a 11.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,573 shares of company stock valued at $1,808,561. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Stock Performance

Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock opened at $199.53 on Monday. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $169.17 and a fifty-two week high of $217.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.07.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.14 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $411.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.15 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 20.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 15.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.01%.

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.