Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 23,454 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in International Paper (NYSE:IP – Get Rating) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 427,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 23,454 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $14,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in International Paper by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,019,663 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,424,000 after purchasing an additional 206,004 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 169,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after buying an additional 17,867 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 1,459.0% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 11,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 11,103 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in International Paper by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 157,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at about $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

NYSE:IP opened at $31.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $30.69 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.86.

International Paper (NYSE:IP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.04. International Paper had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that International Paper will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.88%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IP. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of International Paper from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. 58.com reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of International Paper from $31.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 1,705 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.35, for a total transaction of $60,271.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,069.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 1,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.35, for a total transaction of $60,271.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,069.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark S. Sutton sold 85,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.58, for a total transaction of $2,939,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,944,940. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Paper Company Profile

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International Paper Co engages in the manufacture of paper and packaging products. It operates through the following segments: Industrial Packaging, Global Cellulose Fibers, and Printing Papers. The Industrial Packaging segment is involved in manufacturing containerboards, which include linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium, and saturating kraft.