Shell Asset Management Co. Decreases Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. decreased its stake in International Paper Company by 31.9%, selling 17,608 shares during the second quarter to hold 37,666 shares valued at approximately $1.76 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Price T Rowe Associates Inc., significantly increased their holdings in International Paper during the first quarter.
• International Paper reported an EPS of $0.20 for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, but achieved a revenue of $6.77 billion, surpassing predictions.

Shell Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,666 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 17,608 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in International Paper were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of IP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21,428,455 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of International Paper by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of International Paper by 19.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 230.0% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $211,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Paper in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $132,900,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of International Paper 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 27,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group reduced 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 report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.58.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $46.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -466.70, a PEG ratio of 0.52 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $47.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.International Paper's revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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