Barclays PLC Sells 15,017 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Barclays PLC reduced its holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 583,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 15,017 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.10% of Annaly Capital Management worth $10,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NLY. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 37,640 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 112,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 9,486 shares during the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $186,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 74.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 33,303 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 246,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,510,000 after buying an additional 27,810 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

NYSE NLY opened at $18.34 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $20.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.81. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a one year low of $16.60 and a one year high of $22.11. The firm has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.27%. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 176.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NLY. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.15 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.07.

Annaly Capital Management Company 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.

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