Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 9.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 176,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,212 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $8,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 21,428,455 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 8.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,201,422 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 9.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $877,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,411 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 21.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,019,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $481,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590,137 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 1.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,040,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $428,941,000 after purchasing an additional 85,732 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

International Paper Price Performance

International Paper stock opened at $38.13 on Friday. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $35.79 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a market cap of $20.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -381.30, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.56 and its 200 day moving average is $47.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 56.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. International Paper’s payout ratio is -70.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of International Paper from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of International Paper from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.67.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $409,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,951.69. The trade was a 24.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.