Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Shares in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 140,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,721,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Annaly Capital Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,015,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 3,301 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 278.3% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 40,084 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 29,489 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,170,965 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $332,602,000 after buying an additional 300,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Annaly Capital Management by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 114,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,227,000 after buying an additional 6,180 shares in the last quarter. 51.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NLY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jonestrading increased their price objective on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Annaly Capital Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 27th. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.50 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Annaly Capital Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David L. Finkelstein sold 50,000 shares of Annaly Capital Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $951,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 662,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,606,785.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Annaly Capital Management Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:NLY opened at $18.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. has a one year low of $14.52 and a one year high of $21.07.

Annaly Capital Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.42%. Annaly Capital Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently -72.02%.

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.