The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in International Paper Company $IP

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,167,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,478,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IP. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in International Paper by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in International Paper by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 1.3% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other International Paper news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 106,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,406,422.40. The trade was a 18.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of International Paper stock opened at $41.31 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of -6.34 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is -28.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IP. UBS Group boosted their price target on International Paper from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised International Paper from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Bank of America cut International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Loop Capital set a $61.00 target price on International Paper in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

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.