Apollon Wealth Management LLC Buys 2,230 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in International Paper by 429.0% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in International Paper by 677.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in International Paper by 11.7% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 20,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in International Paper by 6.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 72,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter worth $312,000. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $35,034.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,145 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,896.55. This trade represents a 1.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on IP. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.88.

International Paper Price Performance

IP stock opened at $54.66 on Thursday. International Paper has a 12 month low of $33.16 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.15. The stock has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 4.75% and a net margin of 2.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.84%.

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.