Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.76 Million in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 83,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in STWD. MAS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 25,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $140,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 38,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 20,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 12,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE STWD opened at $19.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.06 and a twelve month high of $22.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.92.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 179.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.50 price objective (down from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, March 4th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.71.

Insider Activity at Starwood Property Trust

In related 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 transaction of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,226,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,876,928.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,226,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,876,928.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $508,250.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 925,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,825,254.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Starwood Property Trust Company Profile

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.