Man Group plc Purchases 22,925 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Man Group plc boosted its position in International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,925 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in International Paper were worth $5,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,053,574 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,703,000 after acquiring an additional 222,392 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter worth $262,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of International Paper by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 13,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 429,742 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,129,000 after purchasing an additional 21,127 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IP. Citigroup initiated coverage on International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.86.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total value of $336,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,896.25. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

International Paper Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE:IP traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.68. 2,695,755 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,851,314. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $41.50 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The firm has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.03.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.12). International Paper had a return on equity of 4.75% and a net margin of 2.99%. The company had revenue of $5.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.12%.

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.