Schroder Investment Management Group Acquires 1,267 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $107,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 3.6 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $23.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.73. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.67 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

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.