Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Sells 3,500 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. reduced its stake in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $3,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 99,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,573,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 42,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 10,600 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,718,000 after buying an additional 7,139 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at WestRock

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRK traded up $3.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $51.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,908,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,108,169. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.10. WestRock has a 12 month low of $26.85 and a 12 month high of $51.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. WestRock’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently -18.01%.

WestRock Company 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.