Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 23,350 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.07% of Annaly Capital Management worth $6,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 209.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $21.70 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.67 and a 1 year high of $22.11. The stock has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.02.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.91%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently 176.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on NLY. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.44.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc, a diversified capital manager, engages in mortgage finance. The company invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages; non-agency residential whole loans and securitized products within the residential and commercial markets; mortgage servicing rights; agency commercial mortgage-backed securities; to-be-announced forward contracts; residential mortgage loans; and agency or private label credit risk transfer securities.