Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,709 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 15.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 48,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 6,469 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 22.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 652,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,091,000 after purchasing an additional 120,163 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Annaly Capital Management by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 12,952 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 19,084 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 6,989 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Annaly Capital Management Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:NLY opened at $21.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.06. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.67 and a twelve month high of $22.11.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.29%. This is a positive change from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.10%.

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.