Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Acquires 18,021 Shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN)

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN - Free Report) by 1,250.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,462 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 18,021 shares during the quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned 0.24% of Middlefield Banc worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 104.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Middlefield Banc by 127.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,180 shares of the bank's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 6,832 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Middlefield Banc by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 15,220 shares of the bank's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Middlefield Banc by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,916 shares of the bank's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 6,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the bank's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MBCN shares. Hovde Group lowered their price target on Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Middlefield Banc from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Middlefield Banc Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MBCN traded up $0.39 on Friday, reaching $23.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,870. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.33 million, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.82. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $34.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 14.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Middlefield Banc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Middlefield Banc's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.75%.

Middlefield Banc Profile

Middlefield Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Middlefield Banking Company that provides various commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, small business owners, and retail customers in northeastern and central Ohio. It offers checking, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, time certificates of deposit, commercial loans, real estate loans, various consumer loans, safe deposit facilities, and travelers' checks.