Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Shares Sold by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP lowered its position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,227,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 615,042 shares during the quarter. Smurfit Westrock accounts for approximately 2.2% of ARGA Investment Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. ARGA Investment Management LP’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $66,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,519,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth $843,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $561,000. Czech National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $4,967,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of SW opened at $53.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 299.10 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.30. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a twelve month low of $38.55 and a twelve month high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 672.26%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 149,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,221,119.24. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Argus started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.70.

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.