Insider Selling: Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Insider Sells $1,333,828.50 in Stock

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 1.7 %

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $53.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.60 and a 200 day moving average of $50.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.67 and a beta of 1.02. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 12-month low of $38.55 and a 12-month high of $56.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its 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 return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 0.63%. As a group, research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,252,000. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,405,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 9,581 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $597,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $520,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.70.

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.