Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment 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 - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 83,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,757,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position 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 stake in Starwood Property Trust by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,734 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 85.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,210 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starwood Property Trust

In other Starwood Property Trust news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,226,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,876,928.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 1,226,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,876,928.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 25,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STWD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $21.50 price objective (down previously from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.71.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:STWD traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,548,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,140,841. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 1.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $19.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.06 and a one year high of $22.29.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 179.44%.

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.