Private Trust Co. NA Reduces Holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,944 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 847 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 93.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 275,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,043,000 after acquiring an additional 132,891 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Annaly Capital Management by 9.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 537,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,780,000 after purchasing an additional 48,555 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased 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 worth $13,091,000 after buying an additional 120,163 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter worth about $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NLY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.44.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

NLY stock opened at $21.61 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.88. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $22.05. The company has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.52.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 163.52%.

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.