Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 120,718 Shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,871 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,718 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.81% of ARMOUR Residential REIT worth $8,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 28,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 20,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 117.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARR opened at $19.19 on Monday. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.35 and a 1 year high of $21.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.81 and a 200 day moving average of $19.42.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given 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 yield of 15.01%. ARMOUR Residential REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ARR shares. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. B. Riley raised shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

Insider Activity at ARMOUR Residential REIT

In other ARMOUR Residential REIT news, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total value of $466,720.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,817.14. The trade was a 98.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $45,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,749.51. This trade represents a 26.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ARMOUR Residential REIT 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.