Picton Mahoney Asset Management Raises Holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 681.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 625,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 545,000 shares during the quarter. WestRock makes up approximately 0.7% of Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in WestRock were worth $25,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in WestRock by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,718,000 after purchasing an additional 7,139 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 2.2% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 125,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 36.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 107,031 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after acquiring an additional 28,777 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 4,688.9% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 86,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after acquiring an additional 84,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of WestRock during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,614,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 hyperlink. In related news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 hyperlink. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,165 shares of company stock worth $1,007,346. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on WestRock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of WRK stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $51.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,719,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,654. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.02 and a 200-day moving average of $43.04. The company has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.38, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $52.07.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. WestRock’s payout ratio is 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.