Aviva PLC Raises Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Aviva PLC grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 1,622.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 323,521 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 304,743 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Annaly Capital Management worth $5,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NLY. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,397,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,721,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,001,407,000 after purchasing an additional 5,859,104 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted 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 purchasing an additional 3,664,098 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1,730.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,792,635 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,453,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $172,706,000 after buying an additional 814,917 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NLY stock traded up $0.36 on Monday, hitting $17.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,141,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,380,281. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.59 and a twelve month high of $22.11. The firm has a market cap of $10.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.91.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.68%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 176.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.15 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.29.

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.