Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Makes New $8.17 Million Investment in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 437,754 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $8,170,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 8.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,990,064 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $361,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342,056 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,400,024 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $360,296,000 after purchasing an additional 223,294 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,638,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $172,988,000 after purchasing an additional 241,465 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 238.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,198,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,664,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 531.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,981,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,900,000 after buying an additional 3,350,435 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE NLY opened at $20.39 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.70. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $21.11. The company has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 1.51.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 15.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 163.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NLY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average 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.