Swiss National Bank Trims Holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 801,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.31% of WestRock worth $33,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in WestRock by 7.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 84,400 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock during the third quarter worth $1,614,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 1.9% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 59,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in WestRock by 582.7% in the third 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 during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WRK shares. Truist Financial lifted 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 shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Five equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.60.

WestRock Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE WRK opened at $51.62 on Wednesday. WestRock has a 12 month low of $26.85 and a 12 month high of $52.07. The company has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.04.

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

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s payout ratio is currently 101.68%.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,165 shares of company stock worth $1,007,346. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.