D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Stake in Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its stake in Annaly by 27.9% in Q4, selling 92,764 shares and now holds 240,078 shares valued at about $5.37 million.
• Annaly declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 (annualized $2.80), implying a ~12.4% yield and a 94.6% payout ratio, with the payment on April 30 and record/ex-dividend date March 31.
• Analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $24.22 after several upgrades to $24–$25, while insiders have sold roughly 71,252 shares (~$1.64M) in the past three months, signaling mixed sentiment.

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,078 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 92,764 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $5,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 273.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 1,867 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NLY has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JonesTrading reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Annaly Capital Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.22.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE NLY opened at $22.54 on Thursday. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a 1-year low of $18.43 and a 1-year high of $24.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.20 and a 200-day moving average of $22.37. The firm has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a PE ratio of 7.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 94.59%.

Insider Transactions at Annaly Capital Management

In other news, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total value of $382,643.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 26,491 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.83, for a total value of $604,789.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 178,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,063,740. This trade represents a 12.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report).

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.