KBC Group NV Purchases New Shares in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 196,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,723,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,832,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $51,430,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at $49,538,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,627,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,716,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 3.2 %

SW stock opened at $51.66 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.63. The stock has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of 287.02 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a twelve month low of $38.55 and a twelve month high of $54.32.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is currently 672.26%.

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.