International Paper Company $IP Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 18.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 29,539 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $6,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 52.0% in 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in International Paper by 8.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,201,422 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in International Paper by 230.0% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $211,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,634 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the first quarter worth about $132,900,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 78.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,860,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $259,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143,027 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the company’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 value 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 represents a 24.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Paper Price Performance

International Paper stock opened at $38.13 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.42. The stock has a market cap of $20.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -381.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.12. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $35.79 and a 12-month high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 2.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 56.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IP. Zacks Research raised shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on International Paper from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. 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. According to MarketBeat, International Paper has a consensus 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.