QRG Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 199,314 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 24,550 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $9,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 52.0% during the first 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 increased its holdings in International Paper by 8.8% during the first 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 buying an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in International Paper by 19.4% during the first 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 buying an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in International Paper by 21.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,019,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $481,203,000 after buying an additional 1,590,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in International Paper by 1.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,040,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $428,941,000 after buying an additional 85,732 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $47.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.35. International Paper Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.27 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The firm has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -472.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.10.

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

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,850.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on IP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $43.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of International Paper from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.02.

International Paper Company Profile

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.