Grace & White Inc. NY Has $336,000 Holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Grace & White Inc. NY lessened its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 14,567 shares during the quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in WestRock were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new position in WestRock in the third quarter valued at about $61,378,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in WestRock in the third quarter valued at about $59,428,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in WestRock by 6,024.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,290,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,632 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in WestRock by 140.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WestRock in the third quarter valued at about $27,593,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WestRock

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WestRock Trading Down 2.0 %

WRK stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,112,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,121,753. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.84 and a 200-day moving average of $42.08. WestRock has a one year low of $26.85 and a one year high of $49.67. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a PE ratio of -7.02, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. WestRock’s payout ratio is presently -18.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

WestRock Profile

WestRock Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.