HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 74,762 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,800,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 74,762 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.53% of Starwood Property Trust worth $34,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STWD. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 7.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,544 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after buying an additional 5,052 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 11.9% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,468 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 47.9% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 84,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 27,431 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 98,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on STWD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $22.50 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starwood Property Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.21.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE STWD opened at $19.92 on Friday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $18.12 and a one year high of $21.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.55 and a 200 day moving average of $19.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 1.68.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.64%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.55%.

About Starwood Property Trust

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.