Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Acquires New Stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 28,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,244,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in International Paper by 208.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in International Paper by 1,094.7% during the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 309.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price target on International Paper from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $25,662.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 42,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,830,641.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other International Paper news, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,729.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $25,662.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,830,641.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,000 shares of company stock valued at $809,922 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP opened at $47.60 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.14 and a beta of 1.04. International Paper has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $49.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.00 and a 200-day moving average of $41.91.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 377.55%.

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.