Bank of America Corp DE Sells 353,391 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its International Paper stake by 9.9%, selling 353,391 shares and retaining 3.23 million shares valued at approximately $115.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.95% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $48.75, although Bank of America downgraded the stock to “neutral” with a $41 target.
• International Paper reported quarterly EPS of $0.04, exceeding estimates, but revenue fell 11.3% year over year to $6 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share, representing a 4.6% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,229,047 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 353,391 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.61% of International Paper worth $115,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,357,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,535,058,000 after purchasing an additional 310,834 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in International Paper by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,498,013,000 after buying an additional 14,422,616 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,535,444 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,148,154,000 after purchasing an additional 204,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of International Paper by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,009,733 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,182,083,000 after purchasing an additional 397,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,832,952 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $584,270,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663,986 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on IP shares. Bank of America cut shares of International Paper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $49.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded International Paper from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $61.00 price target on International Paper in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.75.

International Paper Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of IP opened at $40.54 on Friday. International Paper Company has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $50.25. The company's fifty day moving average is $37.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.97. The firm has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a PE ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio is -28.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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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