Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 506,210 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 30.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,160,279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 506,210 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Annaly Capital Management worth $23,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 115.7% during the third quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 12,032 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 16.9% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 55,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 7,969 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management during the third quarter valued at $6,687,000. United Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 3.8% during the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 58,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 2,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. 51.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Performance

Shares of Annaly Capital Management stock opened at $19.62 on Thursday. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.23 and a fifty-two week high of $21.11. The company has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -280.21 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.89 and a 200 day moving average of $19.83.

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

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3,714.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David L. Finkelstein sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.05, for a total transaction of $1,002,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 612,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,280,003.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Compass Point upped their price objective on Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $23.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.