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

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,072 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,693 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in International Paper were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Paper in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in International Paper during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas cut International Paper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $48.20 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at $2,433,296.56. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total value of $29,688.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,969,402.96. This trade represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,440 shares of company stock worth $944,540. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IP traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.84. 4,262,830 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,322,706. International Paper has a 12 month low of $31.76 and a 12 month high of $59.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.81. The firm has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 48.90 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio is 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.