Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 684,938 Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,587,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 684,938 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $193,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $1,300,041,000. State Street Corp acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth about $627,244,000. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at approximately $340,848,000. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 1.1 %

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $45.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.80 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a fifty-two week low of $38.55 and a fifty-two week high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 0.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Smurfit Westrock news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.