Signet Financial Management LLC Sells 1,159 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Signet Financial Management LLC reduced its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,159 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% during 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,132,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $540,987,000 after purchasing an additional 226,086 shares during the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% during the third quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,722,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204,630 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $266,286,000 after purchasing an additional 167,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.6% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,428,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $314,227,000 after purchasing an additional 133,527 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,300,654.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,844,870. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.25.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $30.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.28. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.20 and a 12 month high of $40.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.57 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 46.32%.

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.