KBC Group NV Has $16.81 Million Stock Holdings in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 98.2% in Q4 to 434,751 shares valued at about $16.81 million (≈0.08% ownership).
• Insiders sold material positions: CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares for ~$2.06 million and CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares for ~$512,600, reducing their holdings.
• Smurfit Westrock raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4523 (annualized $1.81) for a 4.3% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is elevated at 136.09%.

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 98.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 434,751 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 215,448 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.08% of Smurfit Westrock worth $16,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SW. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $2,061,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,660,119.40. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total value of $512,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 151,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,773,271.44. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $42.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 12-month low of $32.73 and a 12-month high of $52.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.66.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%. Analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is 136.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price target on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.91.

Smurfit Westrock Company 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.

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