NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Acquires 7,071 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in International Paper Company by 47.6% during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total investment to approximately $1.11 million.
• Institutional investors own 81.95% of International Paper's stock, with notable boosts in holdings from Vanguard Group Inc. and Price T Rowe Associates Inc. during the first quarter.
• International Paper recently announced a dividend of $0.4625, which represents an annualized yield of 4.0%, even as the company reported a quarterly earnings miss of $0.18 per share.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,924 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,071 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in International Paper were worth $1,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $3,340,966,000 after purchasing an additional 21,428,455 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 buying an additional 4,201,422 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,782,042 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,763,634 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter worth approximately $132,900,000. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IP traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.59. 273,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,151,913. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -465.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.05. International Paper Company has a 52 week low of $43.27 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.63.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. International Paper's payout ratio is presently -1,850.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.65.

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.