Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 467 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% in 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. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of SW stock opened at $53.17 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.02. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 1-year low of $38.55 and a 1-year high of $56.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.67 billion, a PE ratio of 96.67 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 0.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total value 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. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 149,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,221,119.24. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company 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.