Insider Selling: International Paper (NYSE:IP) Director Sells 600 Shares of Stock

International Paper (NYSE:IP) Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 38,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,051,457.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.34. 6,375,643 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,322,353. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.59. International Paper has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $56.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a PE ratio of 45.74 and a beta of 1.04.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in International Paper by 35.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $824,716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492,035 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the second quarter valued at about $119,012,000. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new position in International Paper in the second quarter worth about $88,966,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in International Paper in the second quarter worth about $81,187,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on International Paper in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.70 target price for the company. Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.96.

International Paper Company 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.