Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 532,334 Shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its Smurfit Westrock stake by 0.9%, selling 532,334 shares and leaving it with 60,939,711 shares (11.67%) valued at about $2.36 billion.
• Smurfit Westrock raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4523 (annualized $1.81), a 4.6% yield, though the payout ratio is a high 135.34%.
• Analysts are broadly positive—11 Buys, 1 Hold and 1 Sell—with a consensus price target of $53.91 compared with the recent share price around $39.69.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,939,711 shares of the company's stock after selling 532,334 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.67% of Smurfit Westrock worth $2,356,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SW. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 6,378 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 6.7% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 5.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,559 shares of the company's stock worth $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 192.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the company's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 8,726 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 41,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 12,096 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $39.69 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.57. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84 and a beta of 1.06. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 52 week low of $32.73 and a 52 week high of $52.65.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 4.6%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is currently 135.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $54.00 target price on Smurfit Westrock and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.91.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 151,644 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $84,660,119.40. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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