AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its AGNC Investment stake by 20.2% in the first quarter, selling 2.19 million shares and retaining 8.66 million shares worth approximately $86.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 38.28% of the company.
• AGNC shares opened at $10.84, up 2.2%, while the mortgage REIT reported quarterly EPS of $0.40, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.38. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $11.11.
• AGNC announced a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, payable August 11 to shareholders of record July 31, representing an annualized yield of approximately 13.3% and a 75.79% payout ratio.

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its position in shares of AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,658,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,192,167 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.75% of AGNC Investment worth $86,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGNC. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AGNC Investment by 51.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 64,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 21,897 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 38.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,941 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 6,923 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of AGNC Investment by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,811,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,937,000 after purchasing an additional 387,524 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 57.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 37,642 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 13,793 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,494,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,925,000 after purchasing an additional 203,610 shares during the period. 38.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AGNC Investment Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $10.84 on Friday. AGNC Investment Corp. has a twelve month low of $9.31 and a twelve month high of $12.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.32.

AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. AGNC Investment had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 57.94%.The firm had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment's payout ratio is currently 75.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Compass Point lowered shares of AGNC Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $11.50 price target (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.11.

Insider Transactions at AGNC Investment

In other AGNC Investment news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total transaction of $55,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 406,947 shares in the company, valued at $4,476,417. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AGNC Investment Profile

AGNC Investment Corp. is a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily acquires and manages a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The company employs a leveraged total return strategy, borrowing against its securities to enhance income potential while using interest rate hedges to manage risk. AGNC's investment objective is to generate attractive monthly dividends and long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, AGNC focuses exclusively on U.S.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source