First Horizon Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of International Paper by 133.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $613,367,000 after buying an additional 8,132,332 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in International Paper in the second quarter worth about $119,012,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 125.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,966,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,526,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total value of $29,688.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,402.96. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at $2,433,296.56. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,440 shares of company stock worth $944,540. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Paper Price Performance

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

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, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. International Paper’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on IP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

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.