Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $527,000 Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,757,000 after buying an additional 74,185 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in WestRock by 11.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,696,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,549,000 after acquiring an additional 275,033 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in WestRock by 3.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,552,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,379,000 after acquiring an additional 78,818 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in WestRock by 140.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,375 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in WestRock by 70.4% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,342,000 after buying an additional 753,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WestRock Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WestRock stock opened at $46.81 on Friday. WestRock has a 52-week low of $26.85 and a 52-week high of $49.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.