Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 3,643 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,643 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in International Paper were worth $8,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,340,966,000 after purchasing an additional 21,428,455 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,145,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $914,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 230.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $211,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter valued at $132,900,000. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $45.32 on Friday. International Paper Company has a 1 year low of $43.27 and a 1 year high of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $23.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -453.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.41 and a 200 day moving average of $48.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.18). International Paper had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 2.63%. The business had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,850.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of International Paper from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.02.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $409,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About International Paper

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.