Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN)

Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,500 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Middlefield Banc were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Middlefield Banc by 69.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 6,918 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 104.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,180 shares of the bank’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 6,832 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MBCN shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Middlefield Banc from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

Shares of MBCN stock opened at $25.68 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.90. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a 52-week low of $20.61 and a 52-week high of $34.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.23 million, a P/E ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.70.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.14. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 14.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. This is a boost from Middlefield Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is 43.75%.

Middlefield Banc Company 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.