International Paper Company $IP Holdings Raised by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,341,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 17,643 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.44% of International Paper worth $108,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,047,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,971,784,000 after acquiring an additional 167,889 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,386,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,376,175,000 after acquiring an additional 902,741 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of International Paper by 9.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $877,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 2.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,340,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $622,133,000 after purchasing an additional 294,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 1.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,160,930 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $382,176,000 after purchasing an additional 120,802 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other news, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.98 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on IP. Argus cut their price objective on International Paper from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of International Paper from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.25.

International Paper Trading Down 0.8%

International Paper stock opened at $43.67 on Thursday. International Paper Company has a 12 month low of $35.56 and a 12 month high of $57.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $23.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.51 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.49.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.36). International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.35% and a negative net margin of 14.12%.The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. International Paper’s revenue was up 53.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Company Profile

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.