Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 132,000 Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 132,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,110,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SW. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. This trade represents a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 149,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,221,119.24. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SW. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Argus began coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $53.17 on Friday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.02. The firm has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.67 and a beta of 1.02.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 3.24%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.73%.

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.