Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 29,917 Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. (NYSE:AGM - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,701 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,917 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 2.94% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage worth $59,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,735 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,106 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 7.8% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Federal Agricultural Mortgage by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 300 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Federal Agricultural Mortgage

In other news, CEO Bradford T. Nordholm sold 5,073 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.37, for a total value of $1,082,426.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,770,360.48. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell A. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.10, for a total transaction of $211,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,756,966. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,573 shares of company stock valued at $1,808,561. 2.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage stock traded down $2.29 during trading on Monday, reaching $197.24. 28,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,882. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $201.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. has a twelve month low of $169.17 and a twelve month high of $217.60.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage (NYSE:AGM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $92.15 million. Federal Agricultural Mortgage had a return on equity of 20.14% and a net margin of 12.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co. will post 15.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Federal Agricultural Mortgage's dividend payout ratio 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.