Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 57.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 121,611 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $3,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 452.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in International Paper in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in International Paper in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in International Paper by 94.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC raised its stake in International Paper by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5,875 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on International Paper from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.73.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $38.12 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.99 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.94. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $56.13.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid 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%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, Director Scott Tozier bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,025 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.