Axa S.A. Purchases 10,036 Shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY)

Axa S.A. raised its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY) by 123.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,036 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 38,928,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,095,726,000 after acquiring an additional 14,213,243 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the 4th quarter worth $638,470,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,171,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $566,527,000 after purchasing an additional 637,643 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 14,362,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $404,299,000 after purchasing an additional 158,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,538,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,498,000 after buying an additional 322,313 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weyerhaeuser Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WY opened at $26.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.40 and a 200 day moving average of $29.23. The company has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a PE ratio of 47.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.15. Weyerhaeuser has a 12-month low of $24.10 and a 12-month high of $34.03. 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 (NYSE:WY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 3.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Weyerhaeuser declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Weyerhaeuser Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Weyerhaeuser’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 168.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WY shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Weyerhaeuser from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC lowered their target price on Weyerhaeuser from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperformer” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Weyerhaeuser has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.75.

About Weyerhaeuser

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.