Legal & General Group Plc Invests $84.52 Million in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 2.22 million shares of International Paper during the second quarter, valued at approximately $84.5 million and representing about 0.42% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 81.95% of International Paper.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75. Recent target increases included Royal Bank of Canada at $52 and Truist Financial at $49, although Bank of America downgraded the stock to “neutral.”
• International Paper reported quarterly EPS of $0.04, beating estimates, but revenue fell 11.3% year over year to $6 billion and the company remained unprofitable. It declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 4.6%.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,219,212 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $84,520,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.42% of International Paper as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 452.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of International Paper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of International Paper from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of International Paper from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,437,046.08. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,422.40. This represents a 18.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $39.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.80. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $50.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.11 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The business's revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. International Paper's payout ratio is currently -28.37%.

International Paper 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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