Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 287,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $15,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,447,000 after purchasing an additional 8,370,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,368,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $407,463,000 after purchasing an additional 99,720 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,579,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,867,000 after purchasing an additional 9,774 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,006,000 after purchasing an additional 537,825 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 511.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,970,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $145,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484,386 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on IP shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down from $65.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.32.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $51.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. International Paper has a 52 week low of $33.16 and a 52 week high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 4.75%. On average, equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.83%.

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.