Aviva PLC Lowers Position in Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK)

Aviva PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Weis Markets, Inc. (NYSE:WMK – Get Rating) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,468 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Weis Markets were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Weis Markets by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,015,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,558,000 after purchasing an additional 10,326 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Weis Markets by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,757,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,234,000 after buying an additional 4,460 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Weis Markets by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 387,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,864,000 after acquiring an additional 30,872 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Weis Markets by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 343,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,512,000 after acquiring an additional 4,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Weis Markets by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 250,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,875,000 after acquiring an additional 28,457 shares during the last quarter. 36.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Weis Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th.

Weis Markets Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMK opened at $65.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.38. Weis Markets, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.91 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $80.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.19.

Weis Markets (NYSE:WMK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter. Weis Markets had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.53%.

Weis Markets Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Weis Markets’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Weis Markets’s payout ratio is 30.56%.

Weis Markets Profile

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Weis Markets, Inc engages in the ownership and operation of retail food stores. Its retail stores offer groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer and wine, fuel, and general merchandise items.