Swiss National Bank Raises Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,518,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in International Paper were worth $71,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in International Paper by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,340,966,000 after acquiring an additional 21,428,455 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in International Paper by 8.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in International Paper by 230.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $211,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,634 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the 1st quarter valued at $132,900,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 78.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,860,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $259,310,000 after buying an additional 2,143,027 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $37.65 on Monday. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of -376.50, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.12.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.96). International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 56.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -70.88%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IP. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $36.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.92.

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.