Waverly Advisors LLC Buys 63,574 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 745.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 63,574 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $2,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IP. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the first quarter worth about $1,111,000. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 1.0% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 63,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the first quarter worth about $1,952,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in International Paper by 35.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in International Paper by 179.2% during the 1st quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 33,343 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.58, for a total transaction of $26,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,479 shares in the company, valued at $2,027,453.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $129,630. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,194,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,803,411. International Paper has a 1-year low of $31.76 and a 1-year high of $47.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.18 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 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 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is 377.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IP. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on International Paper in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $48.70 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on International Paper from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.96.

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.