Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lowered its holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,873 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $3,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 149,911 shares in the company, valued at $8,221,119.24. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 1.7 %

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

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.4308 dividend. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Argus started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.