Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 57.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 404,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 146,905 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Annaly Capital Management worth $7,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 275,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,043,000 after purchasing an additional 132,891 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 9.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 537,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,780,000 after buying an additional 48,555 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 22.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 652,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,091,000 after acquiring an additional 120,163 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY opened at $21.70 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.02. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.67 and a 52-week high of $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. Research 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. 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 a positive change from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.91%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 176.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NLY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.