KBC Group NV Sells 486,097 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 81.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 110,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 486,097 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in International Paper were worth $3,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IP. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in International Paper by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in International Paper by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in International Paper by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of International Paper from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on International Paper from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.31.

International Paper Trading Down 0.4%

IP stock opened at $37.95 on Friday. International Paper Company has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $56.13. The company has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of -5.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently -29.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Tozier purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Profile

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.