Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,918 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Middlefield Banc were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Middlefield Banc by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Middlefield Banc in the third quarter valued at $225,000. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MBCN. StockNews.com upgraded Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Middlefield Banc Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MBCN opened at $25.00 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $34.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.71.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.18). Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.10 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.45%.

About Middlefield Banc

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.