Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $12.68 Million in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 692,663 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $12,676,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 22.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 652,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,091,000 after purchasing an additional 120,163 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter valued at $527,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new position in Annaly Capital Management in the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $21.79 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.00. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.67 and a 12-month high of $22.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 20.70%. Equities research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.85%. Annaly Capital Management’s payout ratio is presently 176.10%.

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.