Highland Capital Management LLC Acquires 600 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 4.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 12,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 129,403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 20,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD opened at $20.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.06 and a 1 year high of $22.29.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.44%. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 179.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starwood Property Trust

In related news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total transaction of $508,250.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 925,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,825,254.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.50 target price (down previously from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.50.

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.