Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,974 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in International Paper were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of International Paper by 133.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $613,367,000 after buying an additional 8,132,332 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in International Paper by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $824,716,000 after acquiring an additional 5,492,035 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,012,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in International Paper by 125.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,966,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $33,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,891.55. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $792,729.36. The trade was a 22.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,440 shares of company stock valued at $944,540 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas cut 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, November 13th. Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $57.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.81. International Paper has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $59.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $20.05 billion, a PE ratio of 49.32 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.29 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid 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 3.21%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

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.