Sei Investments Co. Trims Stock Position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Sei Investments Co. decreased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,204 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.07% of Smurfit Westrock worth $19,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. State Street Corp purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $627,244,000. FMR LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $431,653,000. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $340,848,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,377,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

SW stock opened at $45.47 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.59. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52 week low of $38.55 and a 52 week high of $56.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.67 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Truist Financial began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total value of $1,333,828.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% 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.