Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 58,562 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in International Paper were worth $2,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in International Paper in the first quarter valued at $249,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in International Paper by 100.5% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 32,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after buying an additional 16,055 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in International Paper by 20.8% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 17,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 2,981 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in International Paper by 280.9% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 38,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 28,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in International Paper by 8.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.83 per share, with a total value of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 26,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 36,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,064 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.73.

International Paper Stock Down 0.7%

IP stock opened at $31.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. International Paper Company has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $56.13.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. International Paper’s payout ratio is currently -29.09%.

International Paper 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.