Fmr LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN)

Fmr LLC increased its holdings in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,117 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Middlefield Banc were worth $32,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Separately, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Middlefield Banc by 5.1% in the third 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 institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Middlefield Banc Price Performance

MBCN stock opened at $29.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $236.00 million, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a 1 year low of $20.61 and a 1 year high of $35.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.08.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.18). Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $16.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.10 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlefield Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

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.