Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 1,131,147 Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,901,172 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,131,147 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.94% of Smurfit Westrock worth $263,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SW. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.70.

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Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of Smurfit Westrock stock traded down $1.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.02. 5,923,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,797,500. The stock has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.58 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52 week low of $38.55 and a 52 week high of $56.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $49.44 and its 200-day moving average is $50.60.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. Research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Profile

Smurfit Westrock Plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells containerboard, corrugated containers, and other paper-based packaging products in Ireland and internationally. The company produces containerboard that it converts into corrugated containers or sells to third parties, as well as produces other types of paper, such as consumer packaging board, sack paper, graphic paper, solid board and graphic board, and other paper-based packaging products, such as consumer packaging, solid board packaging, paper sacks, and other packaging products, including bag-in-box.