Huntington National Bank Purchases 3,508 Shares of Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN)

Huntington National Bank raised its position in Middlefield Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:MBCN) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,290 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Middlefield Banc were worth $1,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middlefield Banc by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,265 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Middlefield Banc by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,516 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Middlefield Banc by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Middlefield Banc by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,180 shares of the bank’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 6,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 31.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Hovde Group dropped 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 research report on Monday, January 27th.

Middlefield Banc Stock Down 9.2 %

Shares of MBCN opened at $24.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $199.92 million, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.97. 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 12 month low of $20.61 and a 12 month high of $34.00.

Middlefield Banc (NASDAQ:MBCN) last issued 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Middlefield Banc Corp. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Middlefield Banc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Middlefield Banc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Middlefield Banc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.