Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Stock Position Raised by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 42.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,738 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,312 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $1,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SW. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

NYSE:SW opened at $40.81 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.56 and its 200-day moving average is $50.22. The company has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.20 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 52-week low of $37.01 and a 52-week high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

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.