Hosking Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 3.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 101,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,752 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in WestRock were worth $5,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Vantage Consulting Group Inc bought a new stake in WestRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in WestRock by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of WestRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, Private Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of WestRock by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Group LLC now owns 909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.
A number of analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on WestRock from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WestRock from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WestRock from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on WestRock from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 17th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.42.
In related news, insider Jeffrey Wayne Chalovich sold 19,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.23, for a total value of $1,004,108.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,336,843.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
WRK stock opened at $57.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. WestRock has a one year low of $25.44 and a one year high of $62.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of -20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.24.
WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.08). WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.27% and a negative net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 19th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from WestRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 18th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.78%.
WestRock Profile
WestRock Company manufactures and sells paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through Corrugated Packaging and Consumer Packaging segments. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards for sale to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.
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