Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Trims Stock Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 177,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 66,285 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $3,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NLY. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 238.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,198,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,664,098 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $79,900,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,435 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1,730.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,792,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640,032 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 5,113.5% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 788,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,427,000 after acquiring an additional 773,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,676,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NLY. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $21.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.96. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.67 and a 1-year high of $22.11.

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

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.