WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Shares Bought by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 496,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $20,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WRK. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in WestRock in the third quarter valued at $61,378,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in WestRock in the third quarter valued at $59,428,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,269,632 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,269,375 shares during the period. Finally, Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in WestRock in the third quarter valued at $27,593,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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 business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.98. 1,700,770 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,105,959. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. WestRock has a twelve month low of $26.85 and a twelve month high of $49.67. The company has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.14, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its 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). WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.