Fruth Investment Management Sells 624 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Fruth Investment Management lessened its holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 624 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in WestRock were worth $2,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WRK. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of WestRock by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Trading Up 2.0 %

WRK stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $49.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,435,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,302,312. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.24 and a 200 day moving average of $46.83. WestRock has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.83.

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

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. WestRock’s payout ratio is 101.68%.

Insider Activity at WestRock

In related news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,856,721.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other WestRock news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,856,721.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Saturday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

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.