Annaly Capital Management Inc $NLY Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,744,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 64,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.26% of Annaly Capital Management worth $35,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,589,075 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,224,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887,629 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 2.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,683,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $442,136,000 after acquiring an additional 611,817 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Annaly Capital Management by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,926,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,535,000 after purchasing an additional 949,260 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $130,626,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 4,328,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $81,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081,482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Annaly Capital Management

In related news, COO Steven Francis Campbell sold 28,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.12, for a total transaction of $652,562.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 204,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,831.92. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Serena Wolfe sold 16,536 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.14, for a total transaction of $382,643.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,005,094.34. This represents a 8.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 71,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,995 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NLY. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.25 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.11.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

NYSE:NLY traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 871,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,078,644. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.21. Annaly Capital Management Inc has a twelve month low of $16.59 and a twelve month high of $24.52. The stock has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 1.24.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.67 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 34.02% and a return on equity of 15.80%. Sell-side analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management Inc will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently 100.72%.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in generating income through investment in mortgage-related assets. The company’s core business activities include the acquisition, financing, and management of a diversified portfolio of agency and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and other real estate debt instruments. Annaly seeks to profit from the spread between the interest earned on its mortgage investments and its cost of funds, as well as from capital gains realized through active portfolio management.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, Annaly has grown to become one of the largest mortgage REITs in the United States.