The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Stake Lessened by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,534 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% during the third 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 worth $139,246,000 after acquiring an additional 417,741 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $9,041,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,205,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,783,000 after acquiring an additional 289,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $27.08 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $35.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.35 and a 200-day moving average of $29.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded 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. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.