LPL Financial LLC Buys 2,260 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $3,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRK. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 71,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,365,000 after buying an additional 12,559 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WRK. Argus cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on WestRock from $34.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Citigroup upgraded WestRock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on WestRock from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.57.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRK opened at $27.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.12. WestRock has a 1-year low of $26.84 and a 1-year high of $49.74. The stock has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of -5.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.19.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.26. WestRock had a positive return on equity of 9.98% and a negative net margin of 5.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that WestRock will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 10th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.63%.

About WestRock

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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.