Denise R. Singleton Sells 9,700 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Stock

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

WestRock Stock Performance

NYSE WRK opened at $51.62 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. WestRock has a 1 year low of $26.85 and a 1 year high of $52.07.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in WestRock by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,301,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $260,176,000 after purchasing an additional 970,199 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter worth $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 297.7% in the 4th quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294,371 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in WestRock by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,757,000 after acquiring an additional 74,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segantii Capital Management Ltd increased its holdings in WestRock by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 2,907,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus increased their price objective on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WestRock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.60.

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.