New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 9,100 Shares of Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.19% of Costamare worth $2,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costamare by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 65,638 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 6,461 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Costamare by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,213 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Costamare by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 602,062 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,736,000 after purchasing an additional 29,354 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Costamare by 87.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 550,301 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,071,000 after buying an additional 257,422 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costamare by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 23,378 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. 58.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costamare Price Performance

NYSE:CMRE opened at $10.17 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.65. Costamare Inc. has a one year low of $10.05 and a one year high of $17.58.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The shipping company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. Costamare had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 14.03%. Research analysts expect that Costamare Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Costamare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.52%. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CMRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Costamare in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costamare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

About Costamare