Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,828 Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 587,470 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,828 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Smurfit Westrock worth $31,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 149,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,221,119.24. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total value of $1,333,828.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SW. Citigroup upped their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. 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 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Smurfit Westrock stock traded down $0.85 on Tuesday, hitting $53.00. 3,734,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,367,865. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 12-month low of $38.55 and a 12-month high of $56.99. 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 company has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 96.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.26.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

About Smurfit Westrock

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.