Virtu Financial LLC Has $2.02 Million Stock Holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 152.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 110,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,711 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $2,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 53,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. LVZ Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 19,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 9,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NLY opened at $21.70 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.02. 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 cap of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.53.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Annaly Capital Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Annaly Capital Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.