Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Invests $608,000 in International Paper Company $IP

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,949 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Man Group plc purchased a new position in International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at $24,640,000. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in International Paper by 144.2% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 258,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,199,000 after purchasing an additional 152,907 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in International Paper by 29.6% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 137,856 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,518 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the first quarter worth $2,615,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter worth $250,093,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Paper Price Performance

IP opened at $37.96 on Tuesday. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $50.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.67. The company has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.82 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is -28.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 34,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,046.08. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 International Paper stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,422.40. This trade represents a 18.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.