Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System cut its position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 87,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,427 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $1,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STWD. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 111.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 50.0% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starwood Property Trust news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,028,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,226,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,876,928.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 25,000 shares of Starwood Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total transaction of $508,250.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 925,984 shares in the company, valued at $18,825,254.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 1,226,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,876,928.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STWD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America reiterated 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.43.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:STWD opened at $19.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.93. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.06 and a 52-week high of $22.29.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.98%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 179.44%.

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.