Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 383,646 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 58,237 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Annaly Capital Management worth $7,282,000 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 NLY. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Annaly Capital Management by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,996 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 12,952 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 531.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,981,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,900,000 after buying an additional 3,350,435 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 13.5% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 68,247 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 8,136 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,057,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NLY traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.82. 15,130,707 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,645,269. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.03 and a 200 day moving average of $20.03. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.67 and a 1 year high of $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, 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 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 176.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NLY shares. Barclays started coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.44.

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.