AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its AGNC Investment position by 6.7%, selling 120,657 shares and retaining approximately 0.15% of the REIT, valued at $16.9 million.
• Institutional ownership activity was mixed: Vanguard and several other funds increased their holdings, while institutional investors collectively owned 38.28% of AGNC’s shares.
• AGNC reported quarterly EPS of $0.40, exceeding estimates of $0.38, and declared a monthly dividend of $0.12 per share, representing an annualized yield of approximately 13.6%. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $11.11.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,682,178 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 120,657 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.15% of AGNC Investment worth $16,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AGNC Investment by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,745,127 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,047,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304,782 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AGNC Investment by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 486,562 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,216,000 after purchasing an additional 146,508 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,355,114 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,527,000 after purchasing an additional 215,586 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AGNC Investment by 921.8% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 570,650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,724,000 after purchasing an additional 514,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in AGNC Investment by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 786,411 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,430,000 after purchasing an additional 512,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AGNC shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on AGNC Investment from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of AGNC Investment in a research 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 on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $11.50 target price (up from $11.00) on shares of AGNC Investment in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AGNC Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AGNC Investment presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bernice Bell sold 5,000 shares of AGNC Investment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total value of $55,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 406,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,476,417. The trade was a 1.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

AGNC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AGNC opened at $10.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.68 and a 200 day moving average of $10.78. AGNC Investment Corp. has a one year low of $9.31 and a one year high of $12.19.

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. The business had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. AGNC Investment had a net margin of 57.94% and a return on equity of 17.96%. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AGNC Investment Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGNC Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. AGNC Investment's dividend payout ratio is 75.79%.

AGNC Investment Company 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.

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