Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 26,184 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,319,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 26,184 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.25% of International Paper worth $61,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 52.0% in the first 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in International Paper by 8.8% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 4,201,422 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in International Paper by 19.4% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,782,042 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in International Paper by 230.0% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,763,634 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $132,900,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IP shares. Bank of America upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research raised International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded International Paper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on International Paper from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.85.

International Paper Price Performance

IP opened at $48.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. International Paper Company has a 12 month low of $43.27 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.88. The stock has a market cap of $25.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -488.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.10.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. International Paper’s payout ratio is -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.