Wells Fargo & Company MN Boosts Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,008,595 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 92,959 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.18% of Annaly Capital Management worth $18,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NLY. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,630 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 1.5 %

NLY traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.90. 6,901,621 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,961,030. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.83. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.60 and a 12-month high of $22.11.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. On average, equities analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.65%. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management's payout ratio is presently 176.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on NLY shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.15 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.07.

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.