Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 113,939 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in WestRock by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 88,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,178,000 after purchasing an additional 4,541 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in WestRock by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in WestRock by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 28,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 10,779 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in WestRock by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 256,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,757,000 after purchasing an additional 74,185 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WestRock Trading Up 3.5 %

WRK stock traded up $1.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.51. 11,862,013 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,304,467. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.91. WestRock has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.83.

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

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s payout ratio is 101.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at WestRock

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

About WestRock

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.