DnB Asset Management AS Has $5.47 Million Stock Holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,575 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,798 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $5,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $957,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $597,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,124,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth $19,812,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $1,537,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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, Argus initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of SW opened at $44.51 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 80.93 and a beta of 0.99. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 12-month low of $38.55 and a 12-month high of $56.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.69.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released 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%. Analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 312.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. This represents 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.

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.