Amalgamated Bank Reduces Stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,812 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $5,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,252,000. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $9,405,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 9,581 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $520,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

NYSE:SW opened at $51.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 94.13 and a beta of 1.02. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a fifty-two week low of $38.55 and a fifty-two week high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. Analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SW. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Argus initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. This trade represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,225 shares of company stock worth $2,920,429. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.