KBC Group NV Sells 299,196 Shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY

Key Points

• KBC Group NV sold 299,196 shares of Annaly Capital Management, trimming its position by 8% to 3,450,755 shares (about a 0.51% stake) valued at roughly $77.16 million.
• Annaly reported a quarterly earnings beat with EPS of $0.74 versus $0.72 expected and revenue of $1.06 billion (well above the $567.7M estimate).
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share (annualized $2.80), representing a 12.3% yield

KBC Group NV cut its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,450,755 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 299,196 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.51% of Annaly Capital Management worth $77,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 273.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 1,867 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the third quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY opened at $22.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.23. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a one year low of $17.39 and a one year high of $24.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 34.02%.The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $567.67 million. As a group, analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Annaly Capital Management

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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. The trade was a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NLY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. JonesTrading upped their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.78.

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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