LSV Asset Management Has $81.88 Million Holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,972,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,003,940 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.77% of WestRock worth $81,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock during the third quarter worth $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 268.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 198.5% in the third quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WRK. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on WestRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WestRock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,966,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,905,955. The firm has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.77. WestRock has a one year low of $26.85 and a one year high of $51.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its quarterly 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. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. WestRock’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.