Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Grows Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 287,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,040 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of International Paper worth $15,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in International Paper by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,447,000 after buying an additional 8,370,273 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in International Paper by 511.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,970,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $145,106,000 after buying an additional 2,484,386 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,019,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $108,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,632 shares in the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 287.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 1,550,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,006,000 after purchasing an additional 537,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.32.

International Paper Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE IP opened at $51.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper has a 52 week low of $33.16 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.46.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a return on equity of 4.75% and a net margin of 2.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.83%.

International Paper Company 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.