Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 74,074 additional shares for a total of 1,984,768 shares worth about $44.4 million.
• Several other major institutional investors also boosted holdings, including Vanguard, State Street, and UBS-related entities, with institutions now owning 51.56% of Annaly's stock.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally positive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $24.22, while Annaly recently beat EPS estimates and continues to pay a high quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,984,768 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 74,074 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.29% of Annaly Capital Management worth $44,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,613,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,422,401,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024,564 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 7.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,371,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $508,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687,839 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,604,380 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $133,475,000 after acquiring an additional 70,262 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 394.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,374,696 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $108,623,000 after acquiring an additional 4,286,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 21.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,662,780 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $74,025,000 after acquiring an additional 645,527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $22.50) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Friday, April 24th. JonesTrading reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.22.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 1.2%

NLY stock opened at $21.85 on Friday. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a twelve month low of $18.58 and a twelve month high of $24.52. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.49. The stock has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38, a PEG ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.8%. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.59%.

About Annaly Capital Management

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.