Kiker Wealth Management LLC Invests $613,000 in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $613,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of IPG. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,794,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $26.45 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $33.29.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 72.13%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on IPG. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.