United Services Automobile Association Sells 713 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

United Services Automobile Association lowered its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 713 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in International Paper were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in IP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in International Paper by 35.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $824,716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492,035 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 133.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $613,367,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132,332 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after acquiring an additional 4,960,005 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at $94,913,000. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in International Paper by 74.2% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 828,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,952,000 after purchasing an additional 352,934 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IP has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on International Paper in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.70 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.21.

International Paper Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $47.13 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.04. International Paper has a 1 year low of $31.76 and a 1 year high of $49.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.18 and a beta of 1.04.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 2.34%. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently 377.55%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,433,296.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,433,296.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total value of $236,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $792,729.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,000 shares of company stock valued at $809,922. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.