Van ECK Associates Corp Has $8.49 Million Stock Holdings in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. (NYSE:ARR - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 449,871 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 120,718 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.81% of ARMOUR Residential REIT worth $8,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,465 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 304.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,720 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in ARMOUR Residential REIT by 36.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company's stock.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARR traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.95. 3,092,515 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,388,678. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.06 and a beta of 1.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is $18.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.40. ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.35 and a twelve month high of $21.93.

ARMOUR Residential REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.20%. ARMOUR Residential REIT's dividend payout ratio is currently -669.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert C. Hain sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total transaction of $45,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,793 shares in the company, valued at $122,749.51. The trade was a 26.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stewart J. Paperin sold 24,852 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total transaction of $466,720.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 363 shares in the company, valued at $6,817.14. The trade was a 98.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ARMOUR Residential REIT Company 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.