Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 334,928 Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM) by 1,589.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 356,001 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 334,928 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 3.27% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $70,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AGM. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 1.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 141.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,022 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 10.3% in the third quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 11,425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.8% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage in the third quarter worth $300,000. 68.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other Federal Agricultural Mortgage news, CFO Aparna Ramesh sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 9,242 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,590.12. This trade represents 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 this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,644 shares in the company, valued at $1,773,835.24. The trade was a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Price Performance

NYSE:AGM opened at $192.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a 52-week low of $169.17 and a 52-week high of $217.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.26 and a 200 day moving average of $196.02. 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 (NYSE:AGM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The credit services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.17 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $101.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.81 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 19.43% and a net margin of 12.75%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 17.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.