Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 317,385 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 22,563 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.57% of ARMOUR Residential REIT worth $5,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $189,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 270,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,100,000 after acquiring an additional 40,538 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 157,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,973,000 after acquiring an additional 16,523 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 51,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $970,000 after acquiring an additional 11,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 449,871 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,485,000 after acquiring an additional 120,718 shares during the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

ARR opened at $18.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.75 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.24. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $17.35 and a one year high of $21.93.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.31%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio is -669.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ARR. StockNews.com cut ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. B. Riley raised ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BTIG Research began coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ARMOUR Residential REIT currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total value of $466,720.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,817.14. This represents a 98.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $45,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,749.51. This trade represents a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Company Profile

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.