Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,071,513 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,649 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Annaly Capital Management worth $19,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NLY. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% in the 4th 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 holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 537,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,780,000 after acquiring an additional 48,555 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 652,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,091,000 after acquiring an additional 120,163 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY stock opened at $20.69 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 1.52. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $21.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.72.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 163.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NLY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday. Argus raised Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays began coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Company 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.