Investment Management Corp of Ontario Sells 15,619 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lowered its stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,741 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,619 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in International Paper were worth $3,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $877,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,411 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in shares of International Paper by 9.7% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,323,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $108,819,000 after acquiring an additional 205,888 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 2nd quarter worth about $317,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $604,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,735,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $39.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $20.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.09. International Paper Company has a 52 week low of $35.56 and a 52 week high of $60.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.97.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.96). International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.16% and a negative net margin of 5.45%.The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. International Paper’s payout ratio is -70.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $36.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.44.

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.