WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Shares Sold by Prelude Capital Management LLC

Prelude Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 28,869 shares during the quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRK. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in WestRock by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 39,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after buying an additional 5,108 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in WestRock by 21.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 71,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,559 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in WestRock by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 35,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in WestRock by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 208,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WRK shares. StockNews.com lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Argus cut shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of WestRock from $39.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on WestRock from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.57.

WestRock Price Performance

NYSE:WRK opened at $28.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.09. WestRock has a 12 month low of $28.37 and a 12 month high of $54.78. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. WestRock had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 3.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.03%.

WestRock Profile

(Get Rating)

WestRock Co engages in the provision of sustainable fiber-based paper and packaging solutions. It operates through the following segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment consists of the sale of corrugated containers and other corrugated products including displays.