Insider Selling: International Paper (NYSE:IP) SVP Sells 9,000 Shares of Stock

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) SVP Joseph Saab sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $409,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,951.69. The trade was a 24.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

International Paper Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of IP opened at $47.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -471.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.05. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $43.27 and a 12-month high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 2.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,850.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in International Paper by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,879,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,991,462,000 after buying an additional 1,255,650 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in International Paper by 8.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,386,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,376,175,000 after acquiring an additional 902,741 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in International Paper by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $877,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Paper by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,340,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $622,133,000 after purchasing an additional 294,296 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on IP shares. Truist Financial set a $59.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.65.

About International Paper

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.