Cerity Partners LLC Sells 8,460 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 44.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,460 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 278.3% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 40,084 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 29,489 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,170,965 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,602,000 after purchasing an additional 300,457 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter worth $492,000. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 5,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $387,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Jonestrading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Annaly Capital Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Annaly Capital Management news, CEO David L. Finkelstein sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total value of $951,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 662,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,606,785.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NLY opened at $19.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 0.10. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.52 and a fifty-two week high of $21.07. The stock has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a PE ratio of -19.68 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.11 and a 200-day moving average of $18.64.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. Annaly Capital Management had a positive return on equity of 15.13% and a negative net margin of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -268.04%.

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.