Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Stock Holdings Lessened by M3F Inc.

M3F Inc. cut its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 121,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,548 shares during the period. Oak Valley Bancorp makes up about 1.0% of M3F Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. M3F Inc.’s holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 123.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 5,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.86% of the company’s stock.

Oak Valley Bancorp Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ OVLY opened at $24.07 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.13. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.70 and a 52 week high of $32.24. The stock has a market cap of $201.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.28.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oak Valley Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 28.03%.

Oak Valley Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Oak Valley Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Activity at Oak Valley Bancorp

In related news, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. acquired 2,393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $59,825.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 150,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,750,650. The trade was a 1.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,202 shares of company stock worth $237,207 and have sold 990 shares worth $25,026. Company insiders own 19.26% of the company’s stock.

About Oak Valley Bancorp

Oak Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierras. The company's deposits products include checking and savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.