Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 31,500 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 11.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 236,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31,500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.06% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $7,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 26,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 7,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.3% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.98. 5,374,974 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,266,251. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $35.24. The company has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.23.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 4th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

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.