Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Free Report) by 99.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,889 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 877,171 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in WestRock were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in WestRock by 70.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 753,828 shares during the period. Segantii Capital Management Ltd increased its stake in WestRock by 75.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,247,561 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in WestRock by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,120 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc increased its stake in WestRock by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 111,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 43,910 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WestRock news, 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 transaction of $499,162.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the sale, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $499,162.00. Following the completion of 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WRK. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of WestRock from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.60.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WestRock stock traded up $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $53.02. 2,954,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,560. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.33. WestRock has a 1-year low of $27.12 and a 1-year high of $53.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 44.55, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. 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 prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. WestRock's payout ratio is currently 101.68%.

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.

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