Swedbank AB Sells 5,180 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Swedbank AB trimmed its stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 4.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 109,884 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,180 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in International Paper were worth $5,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in International Paper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on IP. Argus upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total transaction of $29,688.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,402.96. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.30, for a total transaction of $115,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,996.40. This represents a 11.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock worth $505,070 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

International Paper stock opened at $58.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.76. International Paper has a 52-week low of $32.70 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.12%.

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.