Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Takes Position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $130,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SW opened at $44.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a 52 week low of $38.55 and a 52 week high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 0.63%. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given 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 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 312.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Smurfit Westrock 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 transaction of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

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.