Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 1,320,006 Shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. boosted its Smurfit Westrock stake by 106.5%, acquiring 1,320,006 shares to hold 2,559,828 shares (about 0.49% of the company) worth roughly $98.99 million at quarter-end.
• Company insiders sold shares recently: CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares at $51.26 and CEO Anthony P.J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares at $51.54, reducing their positions by 6.19% and 2.38%, respectively.
• Smurfit Westrock raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4523 (annualized $1.81) for a 4.3% yield, while the dividend payout ratio stands high at 136.09%.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 106.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,559,828 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,320,006 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.49% of Smurfit Westrock worth $98,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% during 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 stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 151,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,773,271.44. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

SW opened at $42.10 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 1 year low of $32.73 and a 1 year high of $52.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66 and a beta of 1.06.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%.The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC 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 Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.4523 dividend. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price target on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Eleven equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.36.

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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