UBS Group AG Has $140.01 Million Stock Position in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• UBS reduced its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 67.8% in Q4 and now holds 3,620,677 shares worth $140.01 million (about 0.69% of the company).
• Q1 results mixed: revenue was roughly flat at $7.71 billion with strong adjusted EBITDA of $1,076 million and $204 million operating cash flow, but EPS of $0.33 missed expectations and declined sharply year‑over‑year amid weather and North American volume headwinds.
• Dividend and insider activity: the board declared a $0.4523 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.81, ~4.7% yield) despite a high payout ratio (~136%), while insiders sold shares (CFO 10,000; CEO 40,000), modestly reducing their positions.

UBS Group AG reduced its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 67.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,620,677 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,619,476 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.69% of Smurfit Westrock worth $140,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 79,790.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 127,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,459,000 after buying an additional 127,665 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 970,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,762,000 after buying an additional 74,360 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,239,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,779,000 after buying an additional 372,177 shares in the last quarter. Exane Asset Management increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exane Asset Management now owns 345,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,703,000 after buying an additional 90,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 152.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,269,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,333,000 after buying an additional 3,180,531 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

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

Smurfit Westrock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Smurfit Westrock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.4523 per share (annualized yield ~4.7%); record/ex-dividend timing set for mid-May with payment in June — supports income-focused investors and signals confidence in cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Company reported strong adjusted EBITDA of $1,076 million (14.0% margin) and positive operating cash flow of $204 million, which helps cushion the hit to net income and supports the dividend and balance-sheet stability. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue was $7.712 billion, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.7%); net income was $63 million (0.8% margin). These are factual results investors should weigh alongside margins and cash metrics. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.33 missed Street expectations (consensus ~$0.36–$0.44) and fell sharply versus last year ($0.73), driven by lower profits; analysts and coverage note weather impacts and weak North American volumes as key headwinds—main driver of the negative share reaction. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors can review the Q1 earnings call transcript for management commentary on volume trends, pricing, and regional performance to assess whether headwinds are temporary. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bullish coverage argues SW remains an attractive pick based on industry positioning and cash-generative operations — relevant for buy-and-hold investors weighing the near-term miss versus longer-term potential. Read More.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

SW stock opened at $38.50 on Friday. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 52-week low of $32.73 and a 52-week high of $52.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 1.06.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%.The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Smurfit Westrock's quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 136.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $54.00 price target on Smurfit Westrock and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.91.

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.

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