Aviva PLC Reduces Stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Aviva PLC reduced its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,074,578 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,880 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.21% of Smurfit Westrock worth $58,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,871,259 shares of the company's stock worth $4,249,613,000 after buying an additional 820,362 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $1,300,041,000. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,328,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $769,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SW traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.40. 1,465,612 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,801,198. The stock has a market cap of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.59 and a beta of 1.00. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 1 year low of $37.01 and a 1 year high of $56.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.4308 dividend. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SW. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

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

Smurfit Westrock Company 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.