Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 393,581 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,612,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 393,581 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.64% of Annaly Capital Management worth $66,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 53,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,121 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 18,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its position in Annaly Capital Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 30,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NLY traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.63. 6,237,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,628,654. The company's 50 day moving average is $20.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $22.11.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last released 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, research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.94%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 163.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NLY. Barclays began coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.44.

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.