Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases New Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 136,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,699,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of International Paper by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,447,000 after purchasing an additional 8,370,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 133.7% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of International Paper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,012,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in International Paper by 125.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,354,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at $88,966,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on IP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Argus upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated 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, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $58.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.96 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.59 and a 200-day moving average of $48.21. International Paper has a one year low of $32.70 and a one year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 yield of 3.16%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.30, for a total value of $115,412.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,668 shares in the company, valued at $882,996.40. This represents a 11.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $35,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,145 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,896.55. The trade was a 1.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,040 shares of company stock valued at $540,104. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.