Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 115,558 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,577,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,558 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $532,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,340,000. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. acquired a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,853,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,181,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in International Paper by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,348,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $108,955,000 after buying an additional 259,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in International Paper by 94.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,590,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,657,000 after buying an additional 774,301 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This trade represents a 40,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson acquired 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $37.83 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 26,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders bought 36,092 shares of company stock worth $1,313,064 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of IP stock opened at $33.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a PE ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 0.93. International Paper Company has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $56.13.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently -29.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised International Paper from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $38.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners raised International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Paper presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.73.

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.