Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stock Holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 68,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 69,242 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in WestRock were worth $2,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WestRock by 268.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in WestRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in WestRock by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in WestRock in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK stock opened at $50.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.72. WestRock has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.08.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is 101.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other WestRock news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,856,721.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WRK shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Saturday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Argus increased their target price on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.75.

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.