Boston Partners Takes $304.38 Million Position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,643,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,377,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SW. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at $2,915,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 59,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,178,000 after buying an additional 3,970 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 426.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 360,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,431,000 after buying an additional 292,268 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 4,115 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 669,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,048,000 after buying an additional 131,676 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

SW opened at $45.29 on Tuesday. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 12-month low of $38.55 and a 12-month high of $56.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.69. The company has a market capitalization of $23.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.35 and a beta of 0.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on SW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 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 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.