Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $11.78 Million Stock Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.08% of International Paper worth $11,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 35.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $824,716,000 after buying an additional 5,492,035 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in International Paper by 133.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $613,367,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132,332 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after acquiring an additional 4,960,005 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,913,000. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 828,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,952,000 after purchasing an additional 352,934 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on IP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on International Paper from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.21.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP opened at $47.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.84 and a beta of 1.04. International Paper has a 1 year low of $31.76 and a 1 year high of $49.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.14. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 377.55%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at $2,433,296.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other International Paper news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $792,729.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,400 shares of company stock worth $782,856 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper 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.