Artemis Investment Management LLP Increases Position in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) by 719.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,214,979 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,822,720 shares during the period. Smurfit Westrock accounts for approximately 1.1% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $141,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,253,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,474,000 after buying an additional 1,622,799 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the second quarter valued at about $243,400,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 6.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,460,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,587,000 after acquiring an additional 318,336 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 3.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,848,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,141,000 after acquiring an additional 160,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the second quarter valued at approximately $120,660,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SW. Barclays boosted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Smurfit Westrock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smurfit Westrock from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.31.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

NYSE:SW traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.07. 1,642,001 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,481,190. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a fifty-two week low of $32.73 and a fifty-two week high of $52.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.07). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 4.60% and a net margin of 1.59%.The business had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.05) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 192.55%.

About Smurfit Westrock

Smurfit Westrock plc (NYSE:SW) is a global provider of paper-based packaging solutions. The company manufactures corrugated packaging, folding cartons, paper bags and sacks, beverage packaging, consumer packaging, point-of-sale displays, and other customized products designed to protect, transport, and present goods.

The company also operates paper mills, recycling facilities, and packaging-design and testing operations. Its products serve customers in industries including food and beverage, consumer goods, retail, industrial products, and e-commerce.