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

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,905 shares of the company’s stock after selling 467 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $1,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus assumed 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $1,371,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 149,911 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of SW opened at $53.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.67 billion, a PE ratio of 96.67 and a beta of 1.02. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 1 year low of $38.55 and a 1 year high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced 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%. On average, analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.73%.

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.