BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 2,826,756 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets sharply reduced its International Paper stake by 56.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 2.83 million shares and ending with 2.21 million shares valued at about $87.2 million.
• International Paper reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $0.15 missing estimates and revenue of $5.97 billion slightly below expectations, though revenue still rose 13.4% year over year.
• The company continues to attract attention from both analysts and insiders: Wall Street’s consensus remains Moderate Buy with a $43.73 target price, and insiders have bought shares recently while the stock also offers a 5.5% dividend yield.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 56.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,212,544 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,826,756 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.42% of International Paper worth $87,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IP. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 452.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 94.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 1,857.9% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IP. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of International Paper from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.73.

International Paper Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE IP opened at $33.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. International Paper Company has a 1-year low of $29.26 and a 1-year high of $56.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.90 and a 200-day moving average of $38.49. The company has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.31 and a beta of 0.96.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. International Paper's dividend payout ratio is -29.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Tozier purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. The trade was a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson purchased 13,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $37.83 per share, with a total value of $499,999.11. Following the acquisition, the director owned 26,092 shares in the company, valued at $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 36,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,064. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Paper Company Profile

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.

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