Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 853 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WRK. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in WestRock by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in WestRock by 70.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,342,000 after buying an additional 753,828 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in WestRock by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,940,000 after buying an additional 165,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in WestRock by 140.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,826,000 after buying an additional 1,269,375 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WestRock Trading Up 0.9 %

WRK stock opened at $47.99 on Monday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.99. WestRock has a one year low of $26.85 and a one year high of $49.67. The stock has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.