Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,092,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 66,932 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of International Paper worth $39,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,357,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,535,058,000 after buying an additional 310,834 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in International Paper by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,498,013,000 after buying an additional 14,422,616 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in International Paper by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,535,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,148,154,000 after buying an additional 204,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in International Paper by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,009,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,182,083,000 after acquiring an additional 397,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 81.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,832,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $584,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Scott Tozier bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $313,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Up 0.1%

IP stock opened at $37.96 on Monday. International Paper Company has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $56.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.97 and a beta of 0.94.

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 firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -29.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on International Paper from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.23.

About International Paper

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.