National Bank of Canada FI Trims Holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 446,835 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 210,846 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.17% of WestRock worth $18,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WRK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in WestRock by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,718,000 after buying an additional 7,139 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in WestRock by 4,688.9% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 86,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 84,400 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in WestRock in the third quarter worth approximately $1,614,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in WestRock by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 59,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in WestRock by 582.7% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 249,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 213,186 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WestRock Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of WestRock stock opened at $51.62 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.38, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.04. WestRock has a 52-week low of $26.85 and a 52-week high of $52.07.

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. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently 101.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus upped their price target on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of WestRock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

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

WestRock 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.