Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Invests $6.17 Million in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 115,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,167,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SW. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at about $627,244,000. FMR LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at about $431,653,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth about $386,712,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $340,848,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $53.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 294.46 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.22. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52-week low of $38.55 and a 52-week high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.4308 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is presently 672.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 149,911 shares in the company, valued at $8,221,119.24. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.