The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE lessened its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,269 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,402,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $139,246,000 after buying an additional 417,741 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,041,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,271,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $119,695,000 after acquiring an additional 310,621 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $28.20 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.74 and a 200-day moving average of $29.47. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.15 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.