Blue Trust Inc. Buys 3,213 Shares of Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,606 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,213 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Costamare were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CMRE. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costamare by 577.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 76,309 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 65,040 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Costamare by 291.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,016 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 43,925 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costamare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $886,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costamare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,032,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Costamare by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,213,838 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $19,082,000 after buying an additional 30,986 shares in the last quarter. 58.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costamare Trading Down 0.5 %

CMRE opened at $10.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.95 and a 200-day moving average of $13.28. Costamare Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.33 and a twelve month high of $17.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 1.31.

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The shipping company reported $0.69 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costamare Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. Costamare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CMRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Costamare in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered Costamare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Costamare Company Profile