Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,591 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $1,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in WestRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 297.7% during the 4th quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,264,000 after buying an additional 2,294,371 shares during the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of WestRock in the 3rd quarter worth $61,378,000. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at $55,228,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in WestRock by 140.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,375 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus lifted their price target on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Saturday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other WestRock news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WestRock Trading Down 1.5 %

WRK opened at $49.66 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.70 and its 200-day moving average is $46.07. WestRock has a 52-week low of $27.12 and a 52-week high of $54.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.08.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.68%.

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.