Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 281,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,914 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.08% of International Paper worth $13,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IP. FMR LLC increased its position in International Paper by 88.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $871,447,000 after buying an additional 8,370,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in International Paper by 133.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $613,367,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132,332 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,012,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in International Paper by 511.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,970,432 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $145,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in 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. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of the business's 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 owns 18,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,996.40. The trade was a 11.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,040 shares of company stock valued at $304,004. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reiterated 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. Argus upgraded shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.54.

International Paper Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of IP stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $56.78. 2,204,679 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,890,151. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.66. 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 has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.53 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper has a one year low of $32.70 and a one year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. International Paper's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.12%.

About International Paper

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.