Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 785 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,969,402.96. This trade represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,729.36. This trade represents a 22.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,840 shares of company stock valued at $910,826. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price target (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

International Paper Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of IP opened at $57.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.21 and a beta of 1.02. 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.50.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.