GW&K Investment Management LLC Buys 96,867 Shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP)

GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 560,486 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 96,867 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of International Paper worth $29,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Financial LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of International Paper by 2.5% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 2.6% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,994 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of International Paper by 1.5% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 16,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 6.0% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total transaction of $336,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 31,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,896.25. The trade was a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial set a $59.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.65.

International Paper Price Performance

NYSE IP traded up $0.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.88. 4,228,869 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,655,566. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a PE ratio of 46.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.27 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $48.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.91.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 4.05% and a net margin of 1.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.