QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 4,815 Shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 300,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,815 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $8,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WY. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 172.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Weyerhaeuser in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,665 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Weyerhaeuser by 165.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Weyerhaeuser from $38.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Weyerhaeuser from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC raised Weyerhaeuser from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WY opened at $30.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Weyerhaeuser has a 12-month low of $26.73 and a 12-month high of $36.27.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. Weyerhaeuser had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 5.56%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Weyerhaeuser’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Weyerhaeuser’s payout ratio is presently 152.73%.

Weyerhaeuser Company Profile

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards.