IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 3,054 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,054 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in WestRock were worth $2,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of WestRock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 268.7% during 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 last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in WestRock during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its position in WestRock by 198.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in WestRock by 59.0% in 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. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WestRock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.00.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRK traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,823,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,743. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. WestRock has a fifty-two week low of $26.85 and a fifty-two week high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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.