Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 265,898 Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,916,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265,898 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $264,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SW. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SW opened at $45.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.67 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.68 and its 200 day moving average is $50.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 1-year low of $38.55 and a 1-year high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SW. Argus began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

About Smurfit Westrock

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.