Noteworthy Clusters of Insider Buying Witnessed at XL Group plc (XL) and 2 Other Companies

This REIT Had Top Executives Purchase Shares This Week

ARMOUR Residential REIT Inc. (NYSE:ARR) had some of its most influential executives purchase shares earlier this week. Scott J. Ulm, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, bought 10,000 shares on Wednesday at prices between $19.82 and $19.86 per share, boosting his ownership to 58,032 shares. Moreover, Jeffrey J. Zimmer, Co-CEO and President, purchased a slightly larger stake of 15,000 shares on the same day, at prices that fell between $19.48 and $19.62 per share, which increased his stake to 52,946 shares.

ARMOUR Residential is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by a United States Government-sponsored entity or guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Administration. Precisely, the REIT earns interest income on Agency Securities based on their unpaid principal amounts and their contractual terms. In early April, the REIT announced the completion of its acquisition of JAVELIN Mortgage Investment Corp. through a second-step merger, with the shareholders of the remaining JAVELIN shares that were not purchased during the initial cash tender offer receiving $7.18 in cash per share.

ARMOUR Residential REIT paid a cash dividend of $0.27 per common share for April and plans to pay cash dividends of $0.22 per share for May and June. The current monthly cash dividend of $0.22 per share equates to an attractive dividend yield of 13.19%. The shares of the REIT are down by 18% in the past 52 weeks and are 8% in the red year-to-date. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies had 927,800 shares of ARMOUR Residential REIT Inc. (NYSE:ARR) in its portfolio at the end of December.