Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) CEO Anthony Smurfit Sells 40,000 Shares of Stock

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) CEO Anthony Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $2,061,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,660,119.40. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

NYSE:SW opened at $48.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.47. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 52-week low of $32.73 and a 52-week high of $54.00. The firm has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.12). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 6.10%. The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.4523 dividend. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SW shares. Argus reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial set a $60.00 price target on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.