Insider Selling: International Paper (NYSE:IP) Director Sells $32,100.00 in Stock

International Paper (NYSE:IP) Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 owns 38,345 shares in the company, valued at $2,051,457.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

International Paper Stock Performance

NYSE IP opened at $55.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a PE ratio of 47.67 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.53. International Paper has a 52-week low of $31.76 and a 52-week high of $56.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.06.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The firm 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 revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on International Paper in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.70 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Finally, 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 report on Friday. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.96.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of International Paper by 58.7% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 20,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 7,465 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in International Paper by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Lauterbach Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper during the third quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 2.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 417,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,412,000 after acquiring an additional 10,632 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

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.