William Thomas Hamic Sells 24,500 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $1,009,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,406,422.40. This represents a 18.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $41.81 on Wednesday. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $50.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.41 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s payout ratio is currently -28.37%.

Institutional Trading of International Paper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in International Paper by 452.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 94.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IP. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.75.

International Paper Company Profile

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.