Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in International Paper Company $IP

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,092,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 66,932 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $39,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in International Paper by 452.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 94.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of International Paper in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on IP shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of International Paper from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.23.

International Paper Trading Up 0.1%

International Paper stock opened at $37.96 on Monday. International Paper Company has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $56.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.57 and its 200 day moving average is $38.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of -5.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. International Paper’s payout ratio is -29.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Scott Tozier bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Company 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.