Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 1.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,368,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $407,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. FMR LLC raised its position 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 valued at $871,447,000 after buying an additional 8,370,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in International Paper by 133.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $613,367,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132,332 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in International Paper by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,579,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,867,000 after purchasing an additional 9,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of International Paper by 19.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,006,000 after purchasing an additional 537,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $29,208.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,050.60. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,600 shares of company stock worth $188,592. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

International Paper Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of IP opened at $55.58 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.96. International Paper has a 12-month low of $32.70 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.50 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

International Paper Profile

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.