KBC Group NV Purchases 9,693 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,693 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in International Paper were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in International Paper by 4.7% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 164,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,039,000 after acquiring an additional 7,348 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $549,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 937,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,788,000 after buying an additional 49,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in International Paper by 16.1% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP opened at $57.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.32 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper has a 1-year low of $31.76 and a 1-year high of $59.52.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is currently 158.12%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,433,296.56. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,891.55. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,440 shares of company stock valued at $944,540. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. BNP Paribas cut International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.54.

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.