Amundi Increases Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in International Paper Company by 37.4%, owning a total of 1,863,216 shares valued at approximately $91.63 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• The company reported a net loss of $0.18 per share against estimates, with revenues of $6.77 billion, surpassing expectations by $130 million.
• International Paper's quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share results in an annual yield of 3.8%, despite a highly negative dividend payout ratio of -1,850.00%.

Amundi lifted its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 37.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,863,216 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 507,290 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.35% of International Paper worth $91,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,340,966,000 after buying an additional 21,428,455 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of International Paper by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,763,426,000 after buying an additional 4,201,422 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of International Paper by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,145,485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $914,712,000 after buying an additional 2,782,042 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 230.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $211,543,000 after buying an additional 2,763,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter worth $132,900,000. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IP traded down $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.88. The stock had a trading volume of 3,242,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,274,665. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $43.27 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -468.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.17.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,850.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IP. Bank of America upgraded International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research cut International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.65.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.