Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 417,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,632 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of International Paper worth $20,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in International Paper by 133.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $613,367,000 after buying an additional 8,132,332 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in International Paper by 35.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $824,716,000 after acquiring an additional 5,492,035 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at $119,012,000. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the second quarter worth $88,966,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in International Paper during the second quarter valued at about $81,187,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total transaction of $32,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,051,457.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.30, for a total value of $115,412.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,996.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,051,457.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,840 shares of company stock valued at $910,826. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of International Paper stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,536,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,328,206. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. International Paper has a 12-month low of $31.76 and a 12-month high of $59.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.27. The company has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a PE ratio of 48.19 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.26%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas cut International Paper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Argus upgraded International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $61.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.