Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 79.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,869 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,473 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 47,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $3,188,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at about $900,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $306,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 7.2 %

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $43.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.78. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a twelve month low of $38.55 and a twelve month high of $56.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. 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 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SW. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’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 owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.