Rhumbline Advisers Grows Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 56.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 944,205 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 341,432 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.18% of International Paper worth $50,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of IP. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 29,904,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,609,462,000 after purchasing an additional 12,191,361 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,559,812 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,429,449,000 after purchasing an additional 8,720,575 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,948,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $212,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,762 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at $109,201,000. Finally, Slate Path Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at $102,796,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IP. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.54.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total transaction of $336,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,413,896.25. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Paper Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE IP traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $47.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,506,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,585,466. The company has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.08. International Paper has a 12 month low of $41.50 and a 12 month high of $60.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 4.75%. International Paper's quarterly revenue was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. International Paper's payout ratio is currently 158.12%.

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.