South Dakota Investment Council Has $1.79 Million Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 86.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 267,106 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in WestRock were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in WestRock by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,757,000 after purchasing an additional 74,185 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in WestRock by 11.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,696,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,549,000 after purchasing an additional 275,033 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in WestRock by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,552,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,379,000 after purchasing an additional 78,818 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in WestRock by 140.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in WestRock by 70.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,342,000 after purchasing an additional 753,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

WestRock Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE WRK opened at $47.49 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.16. 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 has a 12 month low of $26.85 and a 12 month high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The company’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 EPS. On average, analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.01%.

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.