AE Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in International Paper by 12.8% in Q4 to 374,851 shares, valued at about $14.8 million.
• Insiders bought a total of 76,092 shares (~$3.0M) in the last 90 days, including CEO Andrew Silvernail's 50,000‑share purchase and Director Anders Gustafsson's 13,217‑share buy.
• Wall Street has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy on IP with an average price target of $45.48 (8 Buy, 5 Hold, 1 Sell), despite recent mixed analyst target revisions.

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 374,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,541 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of International Paper worth $14,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,047,079 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,971,784,000 after purchasing an additional 167,889 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in International Paper by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,330,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,520,945,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768,772 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in International Paper by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,990,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,272,966,000 after purchasing an additional 16,622,062 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,612,060 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,374,000,000 after acquiring an additional 225,444 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,121,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $423,222,000 after acquiring an additional 960,240 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IP shares. Argus cut their price objective on International Paper from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of International Paper from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.48.

International Paper Stock Up 2.6%

IP stock opened at $37.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of -5.54 and a beta of 1.14. International Paper Company has a 12 month low of $33.57 and a 12 month high of $56.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.92.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.36). International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.12% and a negative return on equity of 0.35%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 53.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $37.83 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.11. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at $987,060.36. The trade was a 102.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.98 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 76,092 shares of company stock worth $2,999,064 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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