The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.89.

IPG has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.26 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,707,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,691,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,059 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,621,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $834,141,000 after acquiring an additional 794,768 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,127,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $526,102,000 after acquiring an additional 355,393 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,291,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,286,000 after acquiring an additional 167,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,564,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $330,476,000 after acquiring an additional 135,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of IPG opened at $28.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $40.95.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 20th. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 8.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.67%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company Profile

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.