Ethic Inc. Acquires New Shares in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 37,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,018,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. Fullcircle Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 129.2% in the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 21,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 12,142 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $117,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SW. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.20.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

NYSE:SW traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,141,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,669,293. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.50. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a one year low of $37.01 and a one year high of $56.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a PE ratio of 84.77 and a beta of 1.00.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.41 billion. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 161.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a yield of 3.7%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 140.98%.

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.