MetLife Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 258,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,582 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $5,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 7.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,002,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,200,000 after purchasing an additional 138,320 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the third quarter valued at $6,687,000. PGGM Investments increased its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 152.0% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 428,406 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 258,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the second quarter worth about $478,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY stock opened at $19.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -284.71 and a beta of 1.52. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.67 and a 1 year high of $21.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.86.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.05%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently -3,714.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Annaly Capital Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Annaly Capital Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.33.

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.