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 company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $25,662.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,830,641.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IP traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $42.94. 3,151,141 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,766,839. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.39 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.68. International Paper has a 1 year low of $30.78 and a 1 year high of $47.40.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 377.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of International Paper from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $824,716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492,035 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in International Paper by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after buying an additional 4,960,005 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 9,835,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,550,000 after buying an additional 25,640 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,847,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,844,000 after acquiring an additional 35,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,082,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $237,336,000 after acquiring an additional 2,755,441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

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.