Capital Research Global Investors Increases Stock Holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,439,852 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 318,806 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 3.54% of Smurfit Westrock worth $993,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,871,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,249,613,000 after acquiring an additional 820,362 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,300,041,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,328,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,977,000 after buying an additional 1,594,939 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 10,962,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,853,000 after acquiring an additional 4,444,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Smurfit Westrock by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,849,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,470,000 after acquiring an additional 323,225 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $41.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.19 and a beta of 1.00. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52 week low of $37.01 and a 52 week 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $46.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.93.

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 net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. Sell-side analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is 312.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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 objective on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Two 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.