Achmea Investment Management B.V. Sells 171,197 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lowered its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 77.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 171,197 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 275,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,043,000 after acquiring an additional 132,891 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 9.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 537,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,780,000 after buying an additional 48,555 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 22.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 652,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,091,000 after buying an additional 120,163 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter worth $327,000. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NLY. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities 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.com, Annaly Capital Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Up 2.5 %

Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $21.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.96. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.94%. 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 currently 163.52%.

About Annaly Capital Management

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.