Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Cut to “Hold” at Argus

Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.53 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $26.30 and a 52-week high of $35.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.75. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. As a group, analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.9% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.