Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,852,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,461 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.21% of Starwood Property Trust worth $606,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $812,000. Spouting Rock Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $576,000. Finally, Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 30,623 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,418 shares during the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $19.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.68. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.07 and a 52 week high of $22.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 138.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starwood Property Trust news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,028,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 1,226,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,876,928.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on STWD shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.50 price target (down from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.88.

About Starwood Property Trust

Starwood Property Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Commercial and Residential Lending, Infrastructure Lending, Property, and Investing and Servicing segments. The Commercial and Residential Lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages commercial first mortgages, non-agency residential mortgages, subordinated mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as other real estate and real estate-related debt investments, include distressed or non-performing loans.