Picton Mahoney Asset Management Has $25.95 Million Stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 681.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 625,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 545,000 shares during the quarter. WestRock comprises approximately 0.7% of Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned about 0.24% of WestRock worth $25,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in WestRock by 2.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,757,000 after purchasing an additional 74,185 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 11.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,696,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,549,000 after acquiring an additional 275,033 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,632,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,305,000 after acquiring an additional 80,098 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 140.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,375 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 753,828 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WestRock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,165 shares of company stock worth $1,007,346 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WestRock stock traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, hitting $51.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,719,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,654. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.02 and a 200 day moving average of $43.04. WestRock has a twelve month low of $26.85 and a twelve month high of $52.07. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.38, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

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