Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of WestRock by 14.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WestRock during the 4th quarter worth $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in 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. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 165,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in WestRock by 140.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,375 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on WestRock in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WestRock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

WestRock Stock Down 1.4 %

WRK opened at $46.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.20. WestRock has a 52 week low of $26.85 and a 52 week high of $49.67. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of -6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.