Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 669,291 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 131,676 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Smurfit Westrock worth $36,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SW. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth about $59,000. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth about $362,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth about $215,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth about $5,955,000. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,723,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

SW stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $45.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,311,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,549,479. The stock has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 83.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.64. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52-week low of $38.55 and a 52-week high of $56.99.

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Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.4308 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

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 Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,391,057.90. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Argus assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.70.

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.