Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 49,125 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 937,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,125 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of International Paper worth $45,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Paper during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Paper in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.54.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $57.58 on Friday. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $31.76 and a fifty-two week high of $59.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a PE ratio of 48.50 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.34.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its 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 company 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%. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total transaction of $32,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,345 shares in the company, valued at $2,051,457.50. This trade represents a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,840 shares of company stock valued at $910,826. 0.55% of the stock is 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.