JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 13,651 Shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 112.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,831 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 13,651 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Middlefield Banc were worth $725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MBCN. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Middlefield Banc by 69.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Middlefield Banc by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 31.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middlefield Banc Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MBCN opened at $26.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.48. The stock has a market cap of $212.21 million, a P/E ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.41. Middlefield Banc Corp. has a 1-year low of $20.61 and a 1-year high of $34.00. 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 (NASDAQ:MBCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.12. Middlefield Banc had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $18.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.23 million. Research analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Middlefield Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Middlefield Banc’s payout ratio is presently 41.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MBCN shares. Hovde Group cut their price target on shares of Middlefield Banc from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Middlefield Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th.

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.