International Paper (NYSE:IP) Shares Acquired by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $4,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in International Paper by 23.6% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 156,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,110,000 after acquiring an additional 29,904 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in International Paper in the first quarter valued at $4,490,000. PGGM Investments acquired a new stake in International Paper in the first quarter valued at $274,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in International Paper by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 135,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,289,000 after buying an additional 79,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 70,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,733,000 after acquiring an additional 24,781 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $792,729.36. This represents a 22.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,891.55. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $505,070 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Down 1.2 %

IP opened at $58.38 on Friday. International Paper has a 52 week low of $32.70 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 1.02.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. 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 3.17%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of 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. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.