Kathryn D. Sullivan Sells 600 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock

International Paper (NYSE:IP) Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $35,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,896.55. This trade represents a 1.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

International Paper Stock Up 0.5 %

IP opened at $58.75 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.21 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper has a one year low of $32.70 and a one year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 88.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,447,000 after acquiring an additional 8,370,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in International Paper by 133.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $613,367,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132,332 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in International Paper by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,368,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $407,463,000 after acquiring an additional 99,720 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in International Paper by 125.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354,341 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,579,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,867,000 after buying an additional 9,774 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IP shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BNP Paribas lowered International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.