SWS Partners Sells 1,217 Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

SWS Partners reduced its holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,508 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,217 shares during the period. Smurfit Westrock makes up about 1.0% of SWS Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. SWS Partners’ holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $3,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SW shares. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

NYSE:SW opened at $50.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.04 and a beta of 1.02. 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 Ltd has a 1 year low of $38.55 and a 1 year high of $56.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.51 and a 200-day moving average of $50.68.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.