LPL Financial LLC Raises Position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in International Paper Company by 5.0% in the first quarter, owning approximately $39.29 million worth of shares.
• International Paper's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.20, which missed estimates by $0.18, despite a 42.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.4625 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 4.0%, but it has a high payout ratio of 158.12%.

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 736,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 34,983 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.14% of International Paper worth $39,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in International Paper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 47,596,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,561,651,000 after acquiring an additional 368,648 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in International Paper by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 29,904,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,609,462,000 after acquiring an additional 12,191,361 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in International Paper by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,559,812 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,429,449,000 after acquiring an additional 8,720,575 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 19.4% in 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 buying an additional 2,782,042 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in International Paper by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,393,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $450,586,000 after buying an additional 24,816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Price Performance

NYSE:IP traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,605,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,662,689. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96. International Paper Company has a one year low of $43.27 and a one year high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -463.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

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

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. International Paper's payout ratio is currently -1,850.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on IP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial set a $59.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.03.

International Paper Company 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.