ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR - Free Report) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 620,660 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 99,669 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.11% of ARMOUR Residential REIT worth $11,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 927.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 117.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,465 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. 54.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ARR traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.73. 2,222,191 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,908,959. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.91 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $16.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.96. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $13.18 and a one year high of $21.93.

ARMOUR Residential REIT (NYSE:ARR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $75.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.59 million. ARMOUR Residential REIT had a positive return on equity of 16.00% and a negative net margin of 2.61%. Equities analysts predict that ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. ARMOUR Residential REIT's dividend payout ratio is currently -822.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARR. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jones Trading reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ARMOUR Residential REIT presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.50.

About ARMOUR Residential REIT

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.