WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Shares Sold by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,728 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in WestRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in WestRock by 268.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in WestRock by 198.5% in the third quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of WestRock by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WestRock Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WRK traded up $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.31. 991,183 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,105,310. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $49.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of -7.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. WestRock’s payout ratio is -18.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About WestRock

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.