Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $4.45 Million in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 243,086 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,448,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 92,039 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 12,809 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 128,406 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 3,304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NLY. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jones Trading restated a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.15 to $20.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.10.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.24. 8,815,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,193,243. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.60 and a twelve month high of $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.76.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.01. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 14.95%. The business had revenue of $186.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $418.04 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.55%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is 314.61%.

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.