Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,721,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 5,859,104 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.76% of Annaly Capital Management worth $1,001,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 53,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. LVZ Inc. boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 19,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NLY opened at $20.66 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.11. The stock has a market cap of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.06.

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, topping 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, analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.56%. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.10%.

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.