Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 537,825 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 537,825 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in International Paper were worth $161,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 4.3% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 38,833 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in International Paper by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in International Paper by 157.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 223,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,906,000 after purchasing an additional 136,548 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,006,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,762,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Argus upgraded 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. 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, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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 issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of International Paper stock opened at $59.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.35. International Paper has a one year low of $32.51 and a one year high of $60.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.70 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.12%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,891.55. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,440 shares of company stock valued at $944,540 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.