Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR - Free Report) by 55.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,215 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 61,900 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of ARMOUR Residential REIT worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the third quarter worth about $61,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in 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 worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in ARMOUR Residential REIT during the 4th quarter valued at about $170,000. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARR has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Monday, February 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded ARMOUR Residential REIT to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.50.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

NYSE:ARR traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.10. 4,299,252 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,735,083. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.67. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.18 and a 12-month high of $21.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -32.78 and a beta of 1.23.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 20.43%. ARMOUR Residential REIT's payout ratio is -669.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ARMOUR Residential REIT news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $45,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $122,749.51. This trade represents a 26.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Profile

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.