Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 136,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,699,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in International Paper by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,447,000 after acquiring an additional 8,370,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 133.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $613,367,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132,332 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 125.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,579,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,867,000 after purchasing an additional 9,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in International Paper by 19.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,006,000 after purchasing an additional 537,825 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

Insider Activity

In other International Paper news, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total value of $236,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $792,729.36. The trade was a 22.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $35,034.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,145 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,896.55. This represents a 1.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,040 shares of company stock valued at $540,104. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Paper Stock Down 0.6 %

IP opened at $58.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.21. International Paper has a 1-year low of $32.70 and a 1-year high of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 49.96 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.22 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.