Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,468,897 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Smurfit Westrock worth $79,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth about $627,244,000. FMR LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $431,653,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $386,712,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $340,848,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 2.0 %

Smurfit Westrock stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.99. The company had a trading volume of 4,090,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,562,995. The stock has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.62 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 1 year low of $38.55 and a 1 year high of $56.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.65 and a 200 day moving average of $50.68.

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Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.4308 dividend. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SW shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction on 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 $6,136,877.48. This trade represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.