Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, holding about 1.12 million shares valued at roughly $44.4 million. Several other institutional investors also boosted or initiated positions, and institutions now own 83.38% of the stock.
• Insider selling was reported, with CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit selling 40,000 shares and CFO Ken Bowles selling 10,000 shares on Feb. 19. Despite the sales, corporate insiders still own a relatively small 0.46% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally constructive, with multiple firms maintaining buy/outperform ratings even as some cut price targets. Smurfit Westrock recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.33, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $7.71 billion and the stock also offers a $0.4523 quarterly dividend yield of about 4.3%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,121,962 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,238 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of Smurfit Westrock worth $44,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 98,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,790,000 after acquiring an additional 36,137 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 20,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 9,869 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at about $696,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,624,000. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 408.7% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 63,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,451,000 after acquiring an additional 50,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $2,061,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,610 shares in the company, valued at $84,660,119.40. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $512,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 151,644 shares in the company, valued at $7,773,271.44. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.18.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $41.66 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.53. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a twelve month low of $32.73 and a twelve month high of $52.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a PE ratio of 57.86 and a beta of 0.95.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 1.22%.The business had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Smurfit Westrock's revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.4523 dividend. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is 251.39%.

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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