Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.89 Million Stock Holdings in Sylvamo Co. (NYSE:SLVM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sylvamo Co. (NYSE:SLVM - Free Report) by 44.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,864 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,287 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Sylvamo worth $1,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sylvamo by 182.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Sylvamo by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 737 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Sylvamo by 464.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 779 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Sylvamo by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,836 shares of the company's stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Sylvamo by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Sylvamo from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Sylvamo Price Performance

NYSE:SLVM traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.19. 322,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,375. Sylvamo Co. has a 12 month low of $51.60 and a 12 month high of $98.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.33 and a 200 day moving average of $73.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.18.

Sylvamo (NYSE:SLVM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.02). Sylvamo had a return on equity of 34.72% and a net margin of 7.96%. The company had revenue of $821.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sylvamo Co. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sylvamo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. Sylvamo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeanmichel Ribieras sold 21,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.14, for a total value of $1,384,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,591,575.16. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

About Sylvamo

Sylvamo Corporation produces and markets uncoated freesheet for cutsize, offset paper, and pulp in Latin America, Europe, and North America. The company operates through Europe, Latin America, and North America segments. The Europe segment offers copy, tinted, and colored laser printing paper under REY Adagio and Pro-Design brands; and graphic and high-speed inkjet printing papers under the brand Jetstar; as well as produces uncoated freesheet papers.