BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 2,826,756 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 56.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,212,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,826,756 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in International Paper were worth $87,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 135,950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter valued at $250,093,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter valued at $11,174,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IP shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Tozier purchased 10,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,782.50. This trade represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson acquired 13,217 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $37.83 per share, with a total value of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,060.36. The trade was a 102.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 36,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,064 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:IP opened at $33.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.49. International Paper Company has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $56.13.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -29.09%.

About International Paper

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.