New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Buys 7,900 Shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 47.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,502 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 7,900 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in International Paper were worth $1,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased 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 worth $2,561,651,000 after buying an additional 368,648 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,195,085 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,217,119,000 after purchasing an additional 340,383 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of International Paper by 68.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 12,191,361 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of International Paper by 48.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,720,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of International Paper by 19.4% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 7,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 31,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,896.25. The trade was a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

International Paper Price Performance

IP traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $52.47. 6,329,691 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,290,962. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. International Paper Company has a one year low of $42.73 and a one year high of $60.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.05.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.12). International Paper had a return on equity of 4.05% and a net margin of 1.99%. The business had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on International Paper from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.65.

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.