Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group raised its stake in Annaly by 5.0% to 63,613,639 shares, representing a 9.31% ownership stake worth about $1.42 billion at the end of the quarter.
• Company insiders sold a total of 71,252 shares (~$1.64 million) last quarter — including sales by the COO and CFO — leaving insiders with just 0.22% ownership.
• Annaly pays a quarterly dividend of $0.70 (annualized $2.80) for a 12.2% yield and a 94.6% payout ratio; the firm also beat EPS estimates last quarter ($0.76 vs. $0.74).

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,024,564 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.31% of Annaly Capital Management worth $1,422,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 111.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 29,978 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 39.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 14,874 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 17.4% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 541,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,003,000 after purchasing an additional 80,481 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,845 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 833.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,920,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,318,000 after buying an additional 2,607,784 shares during the period. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 26,491 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.83, for a total transaction of $604,789.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 178,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,063,740. The trade was a 12.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,005,094.34. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock worth $1,639,995 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NLY. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Annaly Capital Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $22.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $24.00 target price on Annaly Capital Management and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.22.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NLY opened at $22.92 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a 12 month low of $18.43 and a 12 month high of $24.52. The stock's 50-day moving average is $22.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.23.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $341.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $595.27 million. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 34.33%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.2%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.59%.

Annaly Capital Management Profile

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in generating income through investment in mortgage-related assets. The company's core business activities include the acquisition, financing, and management of a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and other real estate debt instruments. Annaly seeks to profit from the spread between the interest earned on its mortgage investments and its cost of funds, as well as from capital gains realized through active portfolio management.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Annaly has grown to become one of the largest mortgage REITs in the United States.

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