Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 32.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,466 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,971 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in International Paper were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,340,966,000 after buying an additional 21,428,455 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in International Paper by 0.8% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 368,648 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in International Paper by 68.8% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 12,191,361 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,974,271 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $265,377,000 after buying an additional 1,411,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of IP traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,047,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,528,971. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -466.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $49.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.17. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $43.27 and a 12-month high of $60.36.

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

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,850.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial set a $59.00 price objective on International Paper in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on International Paper in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.46.

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.