Strs Ohio Purchases 1,883 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in WestRock were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRK. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of WestRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of WestRock by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,342,000 after acquiring an additional 753,828 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in WestRock by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,940,000 after acquiring an additional 165,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in WestRock by 140.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,375 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Stock Performance

WRK opened at $47.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.96. WestRock has a 1 year low of $26.85 and a 1 year high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WRK. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

WestRock 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.