125,046 Shares in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Bought by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 125,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,735,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $893,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth $773,000. Captrust Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at $254,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at about $373,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth about $2,010,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of SW stock opened at $41.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $21.41 billion, a PE ratio of 74.58 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.60. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 12 month low of $38.55 and a 12 month high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. Analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is presently 312.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SW. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.70.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of Smurfit Westrock 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.