Clay R. Ellis Sells 9,000 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock

International Paper (NYSE:IP) SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

International Paper Price Performance

IP stock opened at $48.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.82 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.21. International Paper has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $49.24.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.14. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 377.55%.

Institutional Trading of International Paper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $824,716,000 after buying an additional 5,492,035 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in International Paper by 133.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $613,367,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132,332 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in International Paper by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after acquiring an additional 4,960,005 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in International Paper by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,847,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,844,000 after acquiring an additional 35,930 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth $119,012,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.21.

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.