International Paper (NYSE:IP) Shares Sold by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd decreased its position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 48.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,518 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in International Paper were worth $782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in International Paper by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after buying an additional 4,960,005 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in International Paper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,913,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Paper by 35.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,961,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,035,000 after buying an additional 777,273 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in International Paper by 138.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 682,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,218,000 after buying an additional 396,427 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its position in International Paper by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 828,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,952,000 after buying an additional 352,934 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total transaction of $27,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,864.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,600 shares of company stock valued at $144,744. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on IP. Citigroup upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America upgraded International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on International Paper from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Argus downgraded International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Paper has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.71.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $46.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.07. The stock has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 94.04 and a beta of 1.06. International Paper has a 1 year low of $30.23 and a 1 year high of $46.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.68.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 0.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 377.55%.

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.