Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 225,582 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 180.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 350,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 225,582 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in International Paper were worth $13,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the first quarter valued at about $249,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 100.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in International Paper by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 17,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 2,981 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 280.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of IP stock opened at $37.38 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.73, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.49 and a 200-day moving average of $37.24. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $50.25.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. International Paper’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other International Paper news, VP William Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,422.40. This trade represents a 18.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised International Paper from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.75.

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.