International Paper Company $IP Shares Bought by Czech National Bank

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank increased its stake in International Paper Company by 6.6%, holding 129,038 shares valued at approximately $6 million.
• International Paper reported a 0.20 EPS for its latest quarter, missing analyst estimates, while revenue increased by 42.9% year-over-year to $6.77 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4625, representing a 3.9% yield, despite having a significantly negative dividend payout ratio.

Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,038 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,936 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in International Paper were worth $6,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in International Paper by 52.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,340,966,000 after acquiring an additional 21,428,455 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 8.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 valued at $914,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in International Paper by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,019,743 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $481,203,000 after buying an additional 1,590,137 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in International Paper by 1.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,040,128 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $428,941,000 after buying an additional 85,732 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IP. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,951.69. The trade was a 24.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

International Paper Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE IP traded down $0.22 during trading on Monday, reaching $46.21. 3,944,926 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,791,487. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $43.27 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -462.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.63.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 2.63%. International Paper's revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio is -1,850.00%.

International Paper Profile

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.