Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 95.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,595 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IP. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in International Paper by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 95,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after buying an additional 25,487 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in International Paper by 590.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 29,031 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 24,828 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in International Paper by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 273,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,674,000 after buying an additional 6,959 shares during the period. Natixis increased its stake in International Paper by 437.1% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 77,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 62,992 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in International Paper in the first quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. This trade represents a 15.30 % 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. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total value of $29,688.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,402.96. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,440 shares of company stock valued at $944,540. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas lowered 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $58.84 on Thursday. International Paper has a 1-year low of $32.21 and a 1-year high of $60.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.01 and its 200 day moving average is $47.05. The company has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.29 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

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.