J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 38.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,924 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 14.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,143,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,324,000 after buying an additional 269,758 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 4.2% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 256,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,828,000 after purchasing an additional 10,404 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter worth about $2,721,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 9.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 720,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,562,000 after purchasing an additional 59,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 33.8% in the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 313,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,888,000 after purchasing an additional 79,038 shares during the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading raised their target price on Annaly Capital Management from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Compass Point initiated coverage on Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.50 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.07.

Insider Activity at Annaly Capital Management

In related news, CEO David L. Finkelstein sold 50,000 shares of Annaly Capital Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $951,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 662,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,606,785.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE NLY opened at $18.57 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.62. The company has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.14 and a beta of 1.54. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.52 and a 52 week high of $21.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -72.02%.

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.