International Paper (NYSE:IP) Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 417,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,632 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of International Paper worth $20,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IP. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,327,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 15.1% during 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 during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the third quarter valued at $4,870,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 5.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 937,324 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $45,788,000 after acquiring an additional 49,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $206,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354,341 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded 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, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.54.

International Paper Price Performance

NYSE:IP traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.49. 1,681,186 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,126,358. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.65. International Paper has a 1-year low of $32.70 and a 1-year high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 46.57 and a beta of 1.02.

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

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.12%.

Insider Activity

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $29,208.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,050.60. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $158,904 over the last three months. 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.