Causeway Capital Management LLC Sells 1,534,615 Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Causeway Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 36.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,662,964 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,534,615 shares during the quarter. Smurfit Westrock makes up approximately 3.3% of Causeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Causeway Capital Management LLC owned about 0.51% of Smurfit Westrock worth $143,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at about $254,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $2,010,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,296,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth $13,701,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at $537,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

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

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

SW opened at $40.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.37. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52-week low of $37.01 and a 52-week high of $56.99. The firm has a market cap of $21.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.20 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $47.56 and its 200-day moving average is $50.22.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.4308 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 312.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Smurfit Westrock Company 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.