Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $354,000 Stock Holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 21,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $45,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,749.51. This represents a 26.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total value of $466,720.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,817.14. The trade was a 98.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARR. B. Riley upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a report on Monday, February 10th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE ARR opened at $18.15 on Wednesday. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.35 and a 1-year high of $21.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.15. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of -42.21 and a beta of 1.53.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is -669.77%.

About ARMOUR Residential REIT

ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the United States. Its securities portfolio primarily consists of the United States Government-sponsored entity's (GSE) and the Government National Mortgage Administration's issued or guaranteed securities backed by fixed rate, hybrid adjustable rate, and adjustable-rate home loans; and unsecured notes and bonds issued by the GSE and the United States treasuries, as well as money market instruments.