Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Takes $6.91 Million Position in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 595,463 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,907,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.47% of Ladder Capital as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 1.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,767,687 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $78,505,000 after buying an additional 108,079 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ladder Capital by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,994,537 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,411,000 after acquiring an additional 54,598 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ladder Capital by 5.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,020,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $23,434,000 after acquiring an additional 96,573 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ladder Capital by 1.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,640,319 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,028,000 after acquiring an additional 15,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ladder Capital by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,633,075 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,944,000 after purchasing an additional 4,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $13.50 price target on shares of Ladder Capital in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.33.

Ladder Capital Stock Performance

LADR traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.80. 444,719 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,347. The company's 50-day moving average is $11.47 and its 200 day moving average is $11.57. Ladder Capital Corp has a 52 week low of $10.10 and a 52 week high of $12.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 54.44, a current ratio of 54.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34.

Ladder Capital (NYSE:LADR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04. Ladder Capital had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The business had revenue of $128.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ladder Capital Corp will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ladder Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Ladder Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 121.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ladder Capital news, insider Robert Perelman sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $303,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 351,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,270,153.95. This trade represents a 6.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.00% of the company's stock.

Ladder Capital Profile

Ladder Capital Corp operates as an internally-managed real estate investment trust in the United States. It operates through three segments: Loans, Securities, and Real Estate. The Loans segment originates conduit first mortgage loans that are secured by cash-flowing commercial real estate; and originates and invests in balance sheet first mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate properties that are undergoing transition, including lease-up, sell-out, and renovation or repositioning.