Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 13,406 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 43.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,406 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $631,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 452.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 115.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 5,875 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Trading Up 0.6%

International Paper stock opened at $38.32 on Thursday. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $56.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.02 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.95 and a 200 day moving average of $38.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The business’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 company earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is -29.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Scott Tozier bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,782.50. This trade represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on IP shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of International Paper from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on International Paper from $44.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Nine equities research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.73.

International Paper Company Profile

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.