Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Shares Purchased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 315,988 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 57,047 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Annaly Capital Management worth $5,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NLY. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.08.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NLY stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.25. The company had a trading volume of 5,776,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,022,079. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.60 and a twelve month high of $22.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.80.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase 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 14.55%. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 176.10%.

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.