Cerity Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,747 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 17,722 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $377,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $247,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Starwood Property Trust by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 70,740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Starwood Property Trust by 154.7% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,851 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,268,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:STWD traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.92. 4,635,039 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,004,351. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 1.24. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.59 and a 52-week high of $21.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.64.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The business had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.64%. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 202.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on STWD shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.70.

Starwood Property Trust 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.