Covestor Ltd Sells 2,378 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Covestor Ltd trimmed its position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,378 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in International Paper were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of International Paper by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 20,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 7,465 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in International Paper by 38.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Paper in the third quarter worth about $217,000. Lauterbach Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 2.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 417,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,412,000 after purchasing an additional 10,632 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

International Paper Price Performance

IP stock opened at $56.93 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.27. International Paper has a one year low of $31.76 and a one year high of $59.52. The company has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 48.66 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is 158.12%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,051,457.50. This trade represents a 1.54 % 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 hyperlink. Also, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,840 shares of company stock valued at $910,826. 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.