Insider Selling: International Paper (NYSE:IP) CAO Sells $146,860.00 in Stock

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) CAO Holly Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

International Paper Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of International Paper stock opened at $40.54 on Friday. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $50.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. International Paper’s payout ratio is -28.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on IP shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, July 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 452.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in International Paper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in International Paper in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 94.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About International Paper

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.