Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 124,973 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in International Paper by 21.4%, buying 124,973 shares to hold 708,620 shares worth about $28.0 million (roughly 0.13% of the company).
• Company insiders bought a total of 76,092 shares last quarter, including CEO Andrew K. Silvernail's purchase of 50,000 shares at $39.98, indicating notable insider buying activity.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $48.06 average price target, while International Paper recently missed quarterly EPS (‑$0.08 vs. $0.28 estimate) despite revenue beating forecasts.

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 708,620 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 124,973 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.13% of International Paper worth $27,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in International Paper by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,047,079 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,971,784,000 after purchasing an additional 167,889 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of International Paper by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,330,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,520,945,000 after buying an additional 3,768,772 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 51.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,990,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,272,966,000 after buying an additional 16,622,062 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of International Paper by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,612,060 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,374,000,000 after acquiring an additional 225,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 11.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,121,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $423,222,000 after acquiring an additional 960,240 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In related news, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.98 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,999,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 13,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.83 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 26,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at $987,060.36. This represents a 102.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 76,092 shares of company stock valued at $2,999,064 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on International Paper from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered shares of International Paper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $44.00 in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $48.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of International Paper from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.06.

International Paper Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE IP opened at $36.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.02. International Paper Company has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $56.64.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.12% and a negative return on equity of 0.35%. International Paper's quarterly revenue was up 53.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

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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