Mariner LLC Reduces Stock Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Mariner LLC reduced its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 18,451 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $2,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. bought a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NLY traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.25. 5,776,487 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,022,079. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.60 and a 52 week high of $22.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.20 and a 200-day moving average of $19.80. The stock has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.55%. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 176.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.15 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.08.

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.