Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys New Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 85,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,253,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the second quarter worth $1,940,896,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the second quarter valued at about $689,498,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in International Paper by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,498,013,000 after purchasing an additional 14,422,616 shares during the period. Atlas FRM LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper in the second quarter worth about $374,904,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $584,270,000 after buying an additional 6,663,986 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on IP shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of International Paper from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

International Paper Price Performance

NYSE:IP opened at $39.34 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.74. The firm has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.03 and a beta of 0.94. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $50.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently -28.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,406,422.40. This trade represents a 18.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.21% of the stock is 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.