California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 28,590 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 802,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 28,590 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.14% of Annaly Capital Management worth $14,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NLY. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 537,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,780,000 after buying an additional 48,555 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,000. Tandem Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter valued at $327,000. Finally, Wernau Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth $229,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 5.5 %

NYSE:NLY traded up $0.98 on Wednesday, hitting $18.83. The stock had a trading volume of 19,778,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,792,303. The company has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.65 and a 52 week high of $22.11. The business's fifty day moving average is $20.86 and its 200 day moving average is $19.95.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. Equities analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.87%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.15 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.29.

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.