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 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

WestRock Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WRK opened at $51.81 on Thursday. WestRock has a one year low of $26.85 and a one year high of $52.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a PE ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on WestRock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WestRock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in WestRock by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,718,000 after purchasing an additional 7,139 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in WestRock by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 125,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in WestRock by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 107,031 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,832,000 after purchasing an additional 28,777 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in WestRock by 4,688.9% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in WestRock during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,614,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

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.