JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,316,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 740,261 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $42,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 383,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,282,000 after purchasing an additional 58,237 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 288,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,288,000 after buying an additional 93,400 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $133,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 260,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 20,709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $18.82 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.03. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.67 and a fifty-two week high of $22.11. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.88%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is 176.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Barclays initiated 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 target on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.