39,614 Shares in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) Acquired by Ramirez Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock PLC, purchasing 39,614 shares valued at approximately $1,785,000 during Q1 of 2023.
• Institutional investors hold approximately 83.38% of Smurfit Westrock's stock, with multiple entities, including the University of Texas, recently making new investments.
• Smurfit Westrock reported a 161.3% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same quarter last year, totaling $7.66 billion, significantly exceeding analyst estimates.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 39,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,785,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 1.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 232,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 0.9% during the first quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 116,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,187,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 6.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 1.9% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 176,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,961,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Smurfit Westrock news, Director Irial Finan bought 15,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.21 per share, for a total transaction of $595,207.80. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 54,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,152,354.53. This trade represents a 38.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.00.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SW traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,962,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,703,902. The company has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.73 and a beta of 1.02. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 52 week low of $37.01 and a 52 week high of $56.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.87 and its 200 day moving average is $46.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.14% and a return on equity of 5.90%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 167.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is presently 260.61%.

Smurfit Westrock 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.