Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,328,052 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,594,939 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $769,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% during 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 last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 55,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE SW opened at $47.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.62 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52-week low of $38.55 and a 52-week high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted 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 return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 0.63%. Equities analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SW. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Argus initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

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 transaction, the insider now 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.