International Paper (NYSE:IP) Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. decreased its position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,002 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,383 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $1,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in International Paper by 2,281.8% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 45.5% during the first quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Argus lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of International Paper from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.13.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IP traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $35.33. 1,874,416 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,608,250. The company has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.76 and a beta of 0.99. International Paper has a 1 year low of $29.00 and a 1 year high of $41.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.67 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 69,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,708. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 8,800 shares of company stock valued at $310,438 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.