WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Insider John L. O’neal Sells 6,965 Shares

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

WestRock Price Performance

WRK stock opened at $51.40 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $26.85 and a 12 month high of $51.79. The stock has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.92.

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

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Argus boosted their target price on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WestRock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.00.

Institutional Trading of WestRock

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WRK. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in WestRock by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 70.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 753,828 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,120 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its stake in WestRock by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 111,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 43,910 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.