HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 97,629 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 97,629 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in International Paper were worth $7,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its stake in International Paper by 8.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,348 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 66,187 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,856,000 after buying an additional 5,290 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in International Paper by 15,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 1,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $61.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $48.20 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.54.

International Paper Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE IP traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $54.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,936,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,232,604. International Paper has a twelve month low of $32.70 and a twelve month high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.80 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.43 and a 200 day moving average of $48.74.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted 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. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.12%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.30, for a total transaction of $115,412.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,668 shares in the company, valued at $882,996.40. The trade was a 11.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $29,208.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,925,050.60. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,040 shares of company stock worth $304,004 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

International Paper 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.