Aviva PLC Sells 74,880 Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Aviva PLC reduced its position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,074,578 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,880 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.21% of Smurfit Westrock worth $58,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 247,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 409,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,066,000 after buying an additional 73,003 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,328,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $769,977,000 after buying an additional 1,594,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 2,102.8% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 239,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,900,000 after acquiring an additional 228,635 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

NYSE:SW opened at $41.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.60. The firm has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.58 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.37. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a one year low of $38.55 and a one year high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 0.63%. Research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 312.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SW shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.