Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) Shares Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 110.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 900,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 471,741 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.16% of Annaly Capital Management worth $16,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,000 after buying 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 worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. Barclays started coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. 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 Price Performance

Shares of NLY stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $19.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,241,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,069,369. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.60 and a 1-year high of $22.11. The company has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.79.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.01. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. The firm had revenue of $186.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $418.04 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.42%. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.10%.

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.