International Paper (NYSE:IP) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,407 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in International Paper were worth $1,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 35.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,492,035 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in International Paper by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $471,065,000 after purchasing an additional 4,960,005 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in International Paper by 82.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,082,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $237,336,000 after buying an additional 2,755,441 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in International Paper during the fourth quarter valued at about $94,913,000. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its holdings in International Paper by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 828,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,952,000 after buying an additional 352,934 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP traded down $0.51 on Monday, hitting $46.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,127,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,814,223. The company has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 95.76 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.17. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $31.76 and a fifty-two week high of $47.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.49.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 2.34%. International Paper’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is 377.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.58, for a total transaction of $26,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,027,453.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,600 shares of company stock worth $150,594. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on IP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on 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 International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.96.

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.