International Paper Company $IP Holdings Lifted by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 797,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 107,496 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in International Paper were worth $31,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in International Paper by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,357,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,535,058,000 after buying an additional 310,834 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in International Paper by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,498,013,000 after buying an additional 14,422,616 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in International Paper by 7.5% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,330,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,520,945,000 after buying an additional 3,768,772 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in International Paper by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,612,060 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,374,000,000 after buying an additional 225,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in International Paper by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,577,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $532,744,000 after buying an additional 115,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Anders Gustafsson acquired 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $37.83 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.11. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,060.36. The trade was a 102.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This trade represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 36,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,064 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IP. Seaport Research Partners upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.73.

International Paper Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:IP opened at $33.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. International Paper Company has a 1-year low of $29.26 and a 1-year high of $56.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.37.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -29.09%.

About International Paper

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.