Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $770,000 Stock Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,425 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in International Paper were worth $770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 88.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,447,000 after purchasing an additional 8,370,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,368,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $407,463,000 after purchasing an additional 99,720 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 125.1% during 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 0.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $35,034.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,145 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,896.55. The trade was a 1.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on IP. BNP Paribas cut International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target (down previously from $65.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America assumed coverage on International Paper in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.88.

International Paper Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of IP stock opened at $57.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.41. International Paper has a 1 year low of $33.16 and a 1 year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 4.75%. On average, research analysts predict that International Paper will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.84%.

International Paper 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.