Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Shares Sold by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lessened its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 51.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,203 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 16,207 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,099,719 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,665,000 after purchasing an additional 109,655 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,400,024 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $360,296,000 after acquiring an additional 223,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,638,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $172,988,000 after acquiring an additional 241,465 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 238.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,198,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,124,000 after buying an additional 3,664,098 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,040,958 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,950,000 after buying an additional 325,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY opened at $21.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.97. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.82%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is 163.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NLY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on 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, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Profile

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.