Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $115.20 Million Position in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 40.3%, selling 2,013,763 shares and retaining 2,979,022 shares valued at about $115.2 million (0.57% ownership).
• Wall Street analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $53.91, although several firms recently trimmed their targets.
• Smurfit Westrock raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4523 (annualized $1.81) for a ~4.5% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is a high 136%, which may raise sustainability concerns.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 40.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,979,022 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,013,763 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.57% of Smurfit Westrock worth $115,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.91.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

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

Smurfit Westrock Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SW stock opened at $40.01 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.21 and a 200-day moving average of $40.58. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 1.06.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 6.10%. The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.4523 per share. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.09%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.