Legal & General Group Plc Purchases Shares of 2,219,212 International Paper Company $IP

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,219,212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,520,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 452.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in International Paper during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IP. Wall Street Zen lowered International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital set a $61.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.75.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total value of $146,860.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at $1,437,046.08. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,422.40. The trade was a 18.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

International Paper Stock Down 3.7%

IP opened at $39.86 on Friday. International Paper Company has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $50.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.57 and its 200-day moving average is $37.80. The company has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion, a PE ratio of -6.11 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.37%.

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.