Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 54,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,915,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at $5,252,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 9,581 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $597,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $520,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $77,207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

SW opened at $45.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.62 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.64. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 1 year low of $38.55 and a 1 year high of $56.99.

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

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.