Alps Advisors Inc. Has $25.64 Million Stock Position in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Alps Advisors Inc. increased its International Paper stake by 22% in the fourth quarter, ending with 650,921 shares valued at about $25.64 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus view is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $43.73, though several firms recently cut their targets.
• International Paper reported Q1 earnings of $0.15 per share, missing estimates, but it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share, yielding about 5.3%.

Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 650,921 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 117,474 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.12% of International Paper worth $25,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviva PLC boosted its position in International Paper by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 419,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,540,000 after acquiring an additional 20,821 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC boosted its position in International Paper by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 73,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 206.0% during the 4th quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 8,717 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,868 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,935 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 5,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on International Paper from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on International Paper from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.73.

International Paper Stock Up 10.2%

IP opened at $35.11 on Friday. International Paper Company has a 1-year low of $29.26 and a 1-year high of $56.13. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $33.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of -5.52 and a beta of 0.96.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -29.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $313,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.

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