Allstate Corp Acquires New Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $26.07 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.81 and a 12-month high of $33.05. 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 market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.83.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value 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. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.