Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 9.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,592,411 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in International Paper were worth $877,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IP. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in International Paper by 2.0% during the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 14,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp acquired a new stake in International Paper during the second quarter worth approximately $317,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in International Paper during the second quarter worth approximately $604,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper during the first quarter worth approximately $313,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in International Paper by 47.0% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 553,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,526,000 after acquiring an additional 176,991 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Paper Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of International Paper stock opened at $36.81 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. International Paper Company has a twelve month low of $36.68 and a twelve month high of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -368.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.10.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.96). International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -70.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,951.69. This represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.80 price objective on shares of International Paper and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.67.

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.