Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 65,638 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,461 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Costamare worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Costamare by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 3,213 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Costamare by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 602,062 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,736,000 after acquiring an additional 29,354 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised 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 purchasing an additional 257,422 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costamare by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 23,378 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costamare by 128.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.08% of the company’s stock.

Costamare Price Performance

CMRE stock opened at $10.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.19 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 1 year low of $9.66 and a 1 year high of $17.58.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The shipping company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Costamare Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costamare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on CMRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Costamare in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Costamare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Costamare Profile