International Paper Company Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 (NYSE:IP)

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.4625 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, June 12th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd.

International Paper has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. International Paper has a dividend payout ratio of 54.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect International Paper to earn $2.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.85 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.8%.

International Paper Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:IP traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.78. 1,594,125 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,221,184. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.43. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $56.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of -5.15 and a beta of 0.93.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. International Paper’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at $313,782.50. This trade represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson acquired 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.83 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 26,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 36,092 shares of company stock worth $1,313,064. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Paper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IP. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 51.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,990,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,272,966,000 after acquiring an additional 16,622,062 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,832,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $584,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663,986 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper in the fourth quarter valued at about $250,093,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 66.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,601,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $485,566,000 after acquiring an additional 5,417,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 7.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,330,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,520,945,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

About International Paper

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.