Kathryn D. Sullivan Sells 600 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock

International Paper (NYSE:IP) Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,891.55. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP opened at $57.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 49.44 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $31.76 and a fifty-two week high of $59.52.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IP. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

Institutional Trading of International Paper

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IP. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 15.1% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in International Paper by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 937,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,788,000 after purchasing an additional 49,125 shares during the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC acquired a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,870,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $206,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in International Paper by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,704,000 after acquiring an additional 73,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.