Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 12,809 Shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,039 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,809 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Annaly Capital Management were worth $1,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,092,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,996,000 after purchasing an additional 41,069 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Annaly Capital Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $680,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 243,808 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,647,000 after buying an additional 65,006 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management in the second quarter worth about $502,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Annaly Capital Management by 28.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.56% of the company’s stock.

Annaly Capital Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NLY opened at $18.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -271.14 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.81. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.67 and a 12 month high of $21.11.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) last posted 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). Annaly Capital Management had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Annaly Capital Management, Inc. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Annaly Capital Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently -3,714.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Annaly Capital Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Annaly Capital Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Annaly Capital Management from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two investment 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

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.