MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,304 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,319 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $4,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,490,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 135,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,289,000 after purchasing an additional 79,454 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 70,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 24,781 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 131,355 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,150,000 after purchasing an additional 7,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 46.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Up 0.8 %

IP opened at $58.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.08. International Paper has a 52 week low of $32.70 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 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 the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.22 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IP shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas cut International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $792,729.36. This represents a 22.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $882,996.40. This trade represents a 11.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $505,070 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Paper 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.