Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases New Stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 223,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,658,000 after acquiring an additional 7,068 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Paper during the second quarter valued at about $317,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in International Paper by 27.3% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 60.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 63,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 23,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 246.3% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 486,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,973,000 after purchasing an additional 818,235 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,891.55. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,800 shares of company stock worth $100,848 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on IP. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on International Paper from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.99.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of IP opened at $60.08 on Friday. International Paper has a 12-month low of $32.70 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a PE ratio of 51.35 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.00.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Company Profile

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.