California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 123,127 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 833,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 123,127 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in International Paper were worth $29,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IP. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in International Paper by 452.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Paper during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,782.50. The trade was a 40,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America cut International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.31.

International Paper Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of International Paper stock opened at $36.36 on Wednesday. International Paper Company has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $56.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.98. The firm has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.72 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted 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). International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently -29.09%.

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.