BlackRock Fund Advisors reduced its stake in shares of Armour Residential REIT Inc. (NYSE:ARR) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,454,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222,223 shares during the period. BlackRock Fund Advisors owned about 3.96% of Armour Residential REIT worth $31,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Armour Residential REIT by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 75,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Armour Residential REIT by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Creative Planning now owns 90,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Group LTD boosted its position in shares of Armour Residential REIT by 21.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Group LTD now owns 30,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 5,321 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Armour Residential REIT by 277.6% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 5,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Armour Residential REIT by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 154,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,357,000 after buying an additional 11,200 shares during the last quarter.
Shares of Armour Residential REIT Inc. (NYSE:ARR) traded up 0.66% during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.34. The company had a trading volume of 294,573 shares. The company’s market capitalization is $783.01 million. Armour Residential REIT Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.61 and a 52-week high of $23.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.08.
The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.37%.
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ARR shares. Zacks Investment Research cut Armour Residential REIT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. National Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Armour Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, April 18th. Ladenburg Thalmann cut Armour Residential REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Armour Residential REIT in a research note on Sunday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.86.
In other Armour Residential REIT news, CFO James R. Mountain purchased 2,000 shares of Armour Residential REIT stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.95 per share, for a total transaction of $39,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,821.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Zimmer purchased 15,000 shares of Armour Residential REIT stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.56 per share, with a total value of $293,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,035,623.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.
ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc (ARMOUR) is an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company invests in residential mortgage backed securities issued or guaranteed by the United States Government-sponsored entity (GSE), such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) or guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Administration (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, Agency Securities).
