Joseph R. Saab Sells 9,000 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock

Key Points

• Joseph Saab, SVP of International Paper, sold 9,000 shares at an average price of $45.53, reducing his ownership by 24.54% to 27,673 shares valued at approximately $1.26 million.
• International Paper's quarterly earnings report showed $0.20 earnings per share, missing estimates by $0.18, although revenue increased by 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4625, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.85 and a yield of 3.9%, though with a negative payout ratio of -1,850.00%.

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $409,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

International Paper Price Performance

IP traded down $0.68 on Friday, reaching $46.43. 9,209,781 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,515,157. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of -464.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.05. International Paper Company has a twelve month low of $43.27 and a twelve month high of $60.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $48.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 2.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. International Paper's payout ratio is -1,850.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,340,966,000 after buying an additional 21,428,455 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth $281,735,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in International Paper by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in International Paper by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,145,485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $914,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in International Paper by 230.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $211,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,634 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial set a $59.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.65.

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.