Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 28,395 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,395 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of WestRock worth $8,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,757,000 after buying an additional 74,185 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 11.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,696,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,549,000 after buying an additional 275,033 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,552,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,379,000 after buying an additional 78,818 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,269,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 70.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,342,000 after buying an additional 753,828 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WestRock Stock Performance

NYSE WRK opened at $51.40 on Tuesday. WestRock has a 52-week low of $26.85 and a 52-week high of $51.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10.

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

WestRock Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,165 shares of company stock worth $1,007,346 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WRK shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Argus increased their target price on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

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.