Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Makes New Investment in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 498,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $24,327,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.14% of International Paper as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 15.1% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC bought a new stake in International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,870,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 5.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 49,125 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 125.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $206,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of International Paper by 29.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $15,704,000 after buying an additional 73,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $55.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,042,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,202,866. The company has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.47 and a beta of 1.02. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.02. International Paper has a 1-year low of $32.70 and a 1-year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. International Paper's payout ratio is 158.12%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total transaction of $28,848.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,872,475.60. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $158,904. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded International Paper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $48.20 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.