Kwmg LLC Boosts Stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Kwmg LLC increased its position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 1.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 135,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,486 shares during the quarter. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $6,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WestRock in the 4th quarter valued at $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,342,000 after purchasing an additional 753,828 shares in the last quarter. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WestRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,228,000. Eisler Capital UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,961,000. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its holdings in WestRock by 442.5% during the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 253,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,515,000 after buying an additional 206,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WRK. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus increased their price target on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.80.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.53. 1,184,868 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,262,594. WestRock has a 12 month low of $27.82 and a 12 month high of $54.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.54.

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. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that WestRock will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WestRock news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other WestRock news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of WestRock 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 directly owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,856,721.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% 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.