Nordea Investment Management AB Boosts Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in International Paper Company by 35.7% in Q2, now holding 436,954 shares valued at approximately $20.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, have significantly increased their stakes in International Paper, indicating strong interest in the company.
• International Paper recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4625, yielding approximately 4.0%, with an unusually high payout ratio of -1,850.00%.

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 436,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 114,887 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.08% of International Paper worth $20,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in International Paper by 52.0% in 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 increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $914,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 230.0% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $211,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter worth approximately $132,900,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Stock Up 0.1%

IP opened at $46.69 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.14 and a 200 day moving average of $47.82. The company has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of -466.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.10. International Paper Company has a 12 month low of $43.27 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The business had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. International Paper's payout ratio is -1,850.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of International Paper from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of International Paper from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of International Paper from $42.10 to $40.40 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.85.

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.

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