Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $107.89 Million Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,598,319 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 569,884 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.01% of WestRock worth $107,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of WestRock by 14.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 70.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 75.2% during the fourth quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 2,907,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $120,722,000 after buying an additional 1,247,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,940,000 after buying an additional 165,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Argus upped their price target on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WestRock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.60.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In other WestRock 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 transaction of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other WestRock news, insider John L. O'neal sold 6,965 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 currently owned by insiders.

WestRock Price Performance

NYSE:WRK traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $52.73. 1,369,788 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,937. The company has a market capitalization of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.10. WestRock has a 12 month low of $27.12 and a 12 month high of $52.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. WestRock's revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock's payout ratio is 101.68%.

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.