Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 97.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,867 shares of the company's stock after selling 162,706 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth about $130,000. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 107,522 shares of the company's stock worth $5,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at about $304,377,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,915,000. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 59,003 shares of the company's stock worth $3,178,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of SW stock traded down $1.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.02. The company had a trading volume of 5,923,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,797,500. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.58 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. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 312.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SW shares. Citigroup increased 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % 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 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.