Fisher Funds Management LTD Makes New Investment in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 156,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,432,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 448.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $7,110,000. Finally, Wealth Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $507,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. This trade represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $1,371,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 149,911 shares in the company, valued at $8,221,119.24. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SW opened at $53.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 1-year low of $38.55 and a 1-year high of $56.99. The company 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SW. Citigroup upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

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.