Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $15.76 Million Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 560,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,956 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $15,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $51,794,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 3.2 %

IPG opened at $27.13 on Tuesday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $33.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.14. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.88.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued 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, equities analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

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.