Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Shares Acquired by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 68.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,962,433 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,444,704 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned approximately 2.11% of Smurfit Westrock worth $590,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 55,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of SW traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.81. 4,376,632 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,815,946. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.20 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.22. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 12-month low of $37.01 and a 12-month high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. Equities analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SW shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.